London Underground

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total capital expenditure on London Underground (LU) was in each year since 1990 during which his Department had responsibility for LU, broken down by line.

Gillian Merron: Responsibility for London Underground passed to Transport for London and the Mayor of London on 15 July 2003. Performance since then has been an operational matter for London Underground who are best placed to answer direct. London Underground does not record investment broken down by lines. However the total figures to 2002-03 are shown in the following table. In April 2000, London Underground adopted new accounting treatment for its investment expenditure which removed the category 'investment renewals' the majority of this expenditure was reclassified as capital, although some (£90 million) became resource expenditure. Therefore the figures before and after April 2000 are not directly comparable and are presented in two separate tables with the years 1990-91 to 1999-2000 on one consistent basis and those for a restated 1999-2000 to 2005-06 are on another. It is normal accounting practice when a change in accounting treatment occurs to restate the previous year's figures on the same basis in the accounts, so that a true comparison can be made.
	
		
			  Investment expenditure 
			  £ million (outturn prices) 
			   1990-91  1991-92  1992-93  1993-94  1994-95  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000 
			 Capital 327 225 414 320 319 210 173 133 171 134 
			 Renewals 87 70 218 159 184 275 198 191 244 208 
			 Total core business 414 295 632 479 503 485 371 324 415 342 
			 Jubilee line extension 40 63 68 261 396 587 660 476 283 655 
			 CrossRail 5 12 29 45 30 16 4 — — — 
			 Total investment 459 370 729 785 929 1,088 1,035 800 698 997 
		
	
	
		
			  Investment expenditure 
			  £ million (outturn prices) 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			 Capital 252 293 418 402 
			 Total core business 252 293 418 402 
			 Jubilee line extension 655 — — — 
			 CrossRail — — — — 
			 Total investment 907 293 418 402

London Underground

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) track and  (b) signal failures there were on the London Underground (LU) in each year since 1990 during which his Department had responsibility for LU, broken down by line.

Gillian Merron: Responsibility for London Underground passed to Transport for London and the Mayor of London on 15 July 2003. Performance since then has been an operational matter for London Underground who are best placed to answer direct. Information on the years prior to 1996 could be provided only at disproportionate time and cost. The numbers of track and signal failures that caused more than a two minute delay for the period 1996-97 to 2002-03 are:
	
		
			  Signals 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			 Bakerloo 264 292 249 355 64 131 143 
			 Central 644 880 308 335 274 554 495 
			 District 303 269 278 394 246 500 454 
			 East London(1) 32 52 49 
			 Jubilee 79 110 197 338 204 354 257 
			 Circle and Hammersmith 129 131 125 238 9 286 203 
			 Metropolitan 209 266 194 290 267 374 353 
			 Northern 298 323 216 317 188 357 551 
			 Piccadilly 261 241 213 202 184 161 161 
			 Victoria 115 166 149 131 100 308 382 
			 Waterloo and City(2)  16 27 29 18 22 23 
			 Total signals 2,3021 2;302 1,929 2,600 1,746 3,099 3,071 
		
	
	
		
			  Track 
			   1996-97  7997-98  7998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			 Bakerloo 193 201 176 168 96 125 76 
			 Central 203 92 65 50 82 103 63 
			 District 74 51 69 83 162 94 143 
			 East London(1) 8 8 11 
			 Jubilee 45 38 77 146 43 77 95 
			 Circle and Hammersmith 75 61 57 62 51 84 81 
			 Metropolitan 105 73 83 82 108 83 74 
			 Northern 141 165 109 105 95 115 171 
			 Piccadilly 92 110 109 135 129 89 105 
			 Victoria 54 80 66 66 25 41 36 
			 Waterloo and City(2) 5 2 8 
			 Total track 982 982 811 897 804 821 863 
			 (1) East London Line was included with Jubilee line until 1999-2000. (2) Waterloo and City Line included with Central Line until 1999-2000.

Travel: Business

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will promote the use of internet conferencing to businesses as an alternative to travel.

Gillian Merron: The Department encourages employers to develop workplace travel plans, which may include teleconferencing and teleworking, to reduce car use for the commute and during the course of work. We recognise the benefits of these and also the potential of internet conferencing in reducing the need to travel.
	On 22 February 2007, we launched the National Business Travel Network to promote and support increased take-up of travel plans, particularly by the business community. Part of the work of this network is to encourage greater use of teleconferencing and teleworking. The network has so far been joined by 30 national
	companies as well as business groups and trade associations.

Travel: Business

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) internal and  (b) international same-day return flights made by businesses in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The number of international day visits by UK residents for business purposes in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	The information requested is not available for internal visits. Information is available from the CAA Passenger Survey on domestic air travel but this survey is only carried out at a selected number of UK airports each year. Day visits abroad by UK residents for business purposes, 2001-05
	
		
			   Day visits (thousand) 
			 2001 607 
			 2002 653 
			 2003 604 
			 2004 651 
			 2005 630 
			  Source:  International Passenger Survey

Biofuels

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much land is used for  (a) biomass,  (b) road use biofuel and  (c) other energy crops; and what estimate he has made of the amount needed to grow enough biofuel to meet the five per cent. biofuel target for road fuel.

Ian Pearson: In 2005, the latest year for which comprehensive data is currently available, a total of around 209,000 hectares was estimated to be used in England for crops purpose-grown for use as industrial materials and bio-energy. Of this total, oilseed rape for biofuel use accounted for nearly 93,000 hectares. This figure relates only to plantings under the Energy Aid Scheme as the end-use for crops not receiving this aid is not known. Energy crops for use in the generation of heat and electricity accounted for around 600 hectares. Plantings of energy crops have increased significantly since 2005, with over 4,500 hectares now in the ground. Biomass also comes from non purpose-grown sources such as straw and woodfuel from forestry operations.
	To meet the 5 per cent. transport biofuel target entirely from UK sources would require between 1 to 1.5 million hectares of crops. However, we anticipate that biofuels in the UK will come from a mixture of home-grown and imported crops, recycled vegetable oils and tallow. In the longer term, as technology improves, straw and wood could be used for bioethanol production, so reducing pressure on land.

Departments: Travel

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many miles were travelled by his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials on Government business by (i) air, (ii) rail and (iii) road in 2006.

Barry Gardiner: Information held centrally on miles travelled by Ministers and officials on Government business by air, rail and road in 2006 is as follows:
	
		
			  Mileage by travel mode 
			   Ministers  Officials 
			 Car (1)— (1)— 
			 Rail (2)16,263 (2)2,015,668 
			 Air (2)135,557 (2)2,639,751 
			 (1) Not held centrally. (2) Mileage available from 1 April to 31 December 2006, where travel is booked on departmental contracts. Data for the first quarter of the year is not available 
		
	
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.
	Vehicle mileage is reported by financial year. DEFRA officials drove 8,930,363 miles on Government business in financial year 2005-06. Mileage collation for financial year 2006-07 will be available in June 2007.

Diesel Fuel: Agriculture

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many people were charged with using illegal red diesel in  (a) England and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many farmers were charged with the illegal use of red diesel for non-agricultural use in  (a) England and  (b) Lancashire in the each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: have been asked to reply.
	The number of people convicted in relation to hydrocarbon oils fraud in mainland Great Britain is available in the HMRC annual report, and are shown in the following table. The 2006-07 figure will be reported in annual report later this year. The occupation of the people convicted is not reported.
	
		
			   Number of people convicted in Great Britain 
			 2001-02 9 
			 2002-03 8 
			 2003-04 17 
			 2004-05 12 
			 2005-06 14

Electronic Tagging: Sheep

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the generic animal number format for electronic identification for sheep;
	(2)  how many unique animal numbers for sheep will be available for the UK under plans to introduce electronic identification for sheep.

Ben Bradshaw: EU Council Regulation 21/2004 requires the code structure of electronic identification (EID) transponders to be compliant with International Standards Organisation (ISO) standard 11784. . This provides for a 12 digit binary number (the highest number being 274,877,906,043) to be used to identify each animal. However, this range of numbers is not available for sheep alone. The ISO code structure applies to all animals which may be electronically identified so we therefore need to build a way to identify each species into the numbering sequence.
	We have yet to decide on what numbering system we will adopt should EID be introduced. Discussions with the devolved Governments and interested organisations in England are ongoing.

Exhaust Emissions: Aviation

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the carbon emissions were of international flights to and from the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the levels of carbon dioxide emissions were from internal domestic flights in the UK in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the level of carbon emissions was from the aviation industry in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The following table shows emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic UK flights, international flights leaving UK airports and total emissions from all UK aviation, in million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) in each year from 2000 to 2005. Emissions from flights arriving in the UK are not estimated.
	
		
			   Emissions from domestic aviation  Emissions from international aviation from UK( 1)  Total emissions from domestic and international aviation 
			 2000 1.96 30.25 32.21 
			 2001 2.06 29.49 31.55 
			 2002 2.07 28.94 31.01 
			 2003 2.11 29.64 31.76 
			 2004 2.30 33.13 35.43 
			 2005 2.46 35.01 37.47 
			 (1) Definition of the UK excludes UK overseas territories. 
		
	
	International aviation is reported as an information item in the UK greenhouse gas inventory but does not, by international agreement, count towards national totals under the Kyoto Protocol.
	The impact of aviation on climate change is not limited to CO2 emissions. Although there is need for further research, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that the total climate change impact of aviation is between two and four times greater than that of its CO2 emissions alone.

Institute for Public Policy Research

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding  (a) his Department and  (b) its predecessor provided to (i) the IPPR and (ii) IPPR Trading Ltd. in each year since May 1997; and for what purpose funding was provided.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, payments to the IPPR are as follows; we do not have a breakdown of funding between IPPR and IPPR Trading Ltd.:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total (£) 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 352.50 
			 2003-04 1,515.75 
			 2004-05 58.75 
			 2005-06 (1)61,375.14 
			 2006-07(2) (3)18,458.29 
			 (1 )Includes £51,898 to meet the costs of a secondee from IPPR to Defra. (2 )April to December. (3) Includes £11,408 to meet the costs of a secondee from IPPR to Defra. 
		
	
	Payments have been for advice on energy, climate and environmental strategy, including environmental pollution; business and strategy; business and transport; business and consumers together with a joint public seminar with DEFRA on India's sustainability challenge.

Wastes: Nuisance

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the annual clean-up and repair costs imposed on  (a) local authorities and  (b) businesses in respect of (i) litter, (ii) dog fouling, (iii) graffiti, (iv) fly-posting, (v) noise and (vi) fly-tipping were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Local authorities do not have a duty to clear fly-posting or graffiti. We do not therefore collect data on clear-up costs to local authorities or to businesses for these or for noise. Street cleansing costs (which include both litter and dog fouling) have been maintained for the last five years, and are shown in the following table(1).
	(1) It should be noted that comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in the method of reporting the information.
	
		
			  Total England net current data for street cleansing (not chargeable to highways) 
			   Amount (£000) 
			 2001-02 434,366 
			 2002-03 476,592 
			 2003-04 538,542 
			 2004-05 594,643 
			 2005-06 629,930 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO)  returns. 
		
	
	Flycapture, the national database of fly-tipping incidents, was set up in 2004 by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association, to record fly-tipping incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and local authorities. Data on fly-tipping levels and estimated clean-up costs are therefore only available from April 2004 onwards.
	The cost of clearing illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities between April 2004 and March 2005 was over £44 million. For the period between April 2005 and March 2006, the cost was almost £50 million.
	DEFRA does not hold data on the clear-up costs of fly-tipping to businesses. However, when the costs of clearance on private land are included, the 2005-06 clearance costs are estimated to rise to over £100 million.

Whales: Conservation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will write to EU member states asking them to join the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in sufficient time to enable them to be eligible for voting rights at this year's IWC meeting in May.

Ben Bradshaw: My right, hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Foreign Secretary have recently jointly written to a dozen EU and Accession States encouraging them to join the International Whaling Commission. A new publication, 'Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility', endorsed by the Prime Minister and Sir David Attenborough has also been sent to these countries encouraging them to join the effort to protect all cetacean species. UK embassies and Ministers across Government will continue to lobby on this issue in the run-up to the next annual meeting of the IWC in Alaska in May. However, not all of those who are willing to join the IWC will be able to complete the necessary parliamentary processes in time to secure voting rights at the 2007 meeting.

Afghanistan: Drugs

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is being given to revitalise the Afghan economy as part of the UK's counter-narcotics strategy in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is spending £270 million over three years to support the Government of Afghanistan's (GoA) National Drug Control Strategy. We have helped the GoA create a Counter Narcotics Trust Fund to mobilise international donor support and develop Afghan counter narcotics planning and capacity. DFID plays a key role by promoting alternative, legal livelihoods to help revitalise the Afghan economy. Legal livelihoods can be regulated and taxed by the government, and form the basis for long-term, sustainable economic growth. DFID's Livelihoods Programme, worth nearly £150 million between 2006-09, is supporting GoA National Priority Programmes to develop legal livelihood opportunities as alternatives to poppy farming. Examples include our £18 million support for the National Rural Access Programme (NRAP) and our £20 million contribution over three years to the Micro-finance Investment Support Facility of Afghanistan (MISFA). NRAP has built essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges and irrigation schemes, and has generated over 15 million days of labour for Afghans. MISFA has so far provided small loans to over 230,000 Afghan families. This has enabled poor people who would otherwise not have access to credit to successfully invest in income-generating activities.
	DFID is also contributing £9 million to the GoA to help boost legal private sector activity by reducing red tape and improving the business environment, and supporting the mining sector and encouraging foreign investment. Of this, 1 million has been channelled through a World Bank-managed Trust Fund which provides risk guarantees to attract foreign investors. In the past year, this Trust Fund has supported three projects which are expected to trigger over $26 million of investment, stimulate the cotton and pharmaceutical sector, and expand access to credit. This will help to further enhance private sector opportunities and revitalise the legal Afghan economy.

Uzbekistan

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan.

Geoff Hoon: The human rights situation remains a cause for concern. The situation has deteriorated further since November 2006. There have been more arrests of respected human rights defenders, including Umida Niyazova, who worked as an interpreter for Human Rights Watch in Tashkent. The International Committee of the Red Cross have not yet been able to visit prisons, despite apparently reaching agreement with the Uzbeks in November 2006. The Uzbek authorities continue to deny access to, and information on the whereabouts of, individuals of concern to the EU, for example Zainabiddinov and Tadjibaeva. More foreign non-governmental organization's in Tashkent, such as World Vision, are facing threats of eviction from the country.

Zimbabwe

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her counterpart in South Africa on the arrest and detention of Morgan Tsvangirai by security forces in Zimbabwe on 11 March 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: I raised in strong terms our concerns at the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke on 15 March to her South African counterpart about the worsening situation in Zimbabwe. We will continue to press South Africa and other African states to put pressure on Mugabe to allow peaceful protests to occur and to engage with the democratic opposition and civil society to bring about a resolution to Zimbabwe's problems.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has already made a statement publicly recording her condemnation of the shooting, arrest and beatings of protestors in
	Harare on 11 March.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of violence toward democracy activists detained by the Government of Zimbabwe following a prayer meeting in Harare; and what representations she has made to  (a) her counterparts in the European Union,  (b) the EU External Affairs Commissioner and  (c) her counterparts in South Africa on the issue.

Ian McCartney: Our embassy in Harare is keeping us informed of events in Zimbabwe. Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, have made statements expressing our deep condemnation of what has happened there in recent days. I raised in strong terms our concerns at the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Zimbabwe with Nksozana Dlamini-Zuma and Carl Bildt on 15 March. We are in close contact with other EU countries and continue to discuss what needs to happen to relieve the terrible economic and humanitarian crisis facing its people.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total numbers of troops available to the International Security Assistance Force from  (a) the United States,  (b) Germany,  (c) France and  (d) the UK are serving in

Des Browne: Of the total international security assistance force of around 35,500 troops, provided by the United States, Germany, France and the UK, the approximate percentages are as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 US 39 
			 Germany 8 
			 France 3 
			 UK 15 
		
	
	The UK contribution will increase to approximately 21 per cent. once the force enhancements announced on 26 February have deployed fully.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the  (a) defence teams,  (b) prosecution teams and  (c) other costs related to the court martial in (i) the prosecution of the seven paratroopers for alleged crimes in Iraq in November 2005 and (ii) the prosecution of the four guardsmen for alleged crimes in Iraq in June 2006.

Adam Ingram: The costs requested were:
	
		
			   3 Para Trial  IG Trial 
			 Defence costs 3.048 1.283 
			 Prosecution costs 0.254 0.193 
			 Other costs 0.511 0.210 
			 Total 3.813 1.686

Departments: Advertising

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to  (a) television,  (b) radio and  (c) print media.

David Lammy: The Department had a zero spend on advertising and promotional campaigns between 1997 and 2002. Expenditure in subsequent years is set out as follows:
	
		
			   Campaign  Spend (£) 
			 2003-04 BBC Charter (Press advertising) 20,987 
			
			 2004-05 BBC Charter (Radio advertising) 37,085 
			
			 2004-05 Digital Switchover (PR) 170,000 
			
			 2005-06 Digital Switchover (PR) 320,000 
			
			 2005-06 Licensing Communications broken down as: 139,578 
			  PR 70,000 
			  Direct mail 18,550 
			  Press advertising 51,028 
			
			 2006-07 Tourism Consultation broken down as: 12,868 
			  Press advertising 4,903 
			  Direct mail 7,965 
			
			 2006-07 Digital Switchover (PR) 90,880

Gaming Clubs: Licensing

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department held with the Gambling Commission on the implications of using a test of social impact for awarding a regional casino licence for the progress towards the objective of controlling problem gambling.

Richard Caborn: None. The Government published the criteria they proposed to use for selecting the areas where the new categories casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 would be located in its national statement of policy published on 16 December 2004. The Gambling Commission came into being on 1 October 2005.

VisitBritain: Standards

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has set targets for VisitBritain; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: DCMS set targets for VisitBritain on return on grant in aid investment, regional and seasonal spread, and key areas of consumer engagement These are set out in the Funding Agreement between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and VisitBritain 2005-06 to 2007-08, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departments: Contracts

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contracts were awarded by his Department to private military security companies for work in  (a) Iraq,  (b) Afghanistan and  (c) other countries in each of the last five years; what the (i) value and (ii) purpose was of each such contract; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID engages private security companies to provide security of our staff in high threat environments. ArmorGroup, Control Risks Group (CRG), and Kroll, have provided mobile security for DFID staff, consultants and static guarding for our compounds in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Since June 2004, DFID's security needs in Iraq have been met by contracts managed and administered by the FCO. The following costs have been incurred by DFID:
	
		
			   Cost to DFID (£ million) 
			 2003-04 (1)5 
			 2004-05 14.2 
			 2005-06 12.9 
			 2006-07 6.1 
			 Total 38.2 
			 (1) DFID contract. 
		
	
	The Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) Iraq Strategy also has significant programme spend on police/prison reform—elements of police capacity building programme contracted to ArmorGroup who utilise both CRG and military (escorts) to provide security for their personnel.
	In Afghanistan, DFID has awarded a number of contracts to ArmorGroup for armed protection of the main DFID office and residential compounds. These contracts also provide close protection (armed bodyguards) to staff when travelling to locations in Afghanistan deemed medium/high risk, and defensive driving training to our locally employed drivers. The value of this contract from June 2004 to December 2006 was £3,217,691. Since January 2007, DFID's security needs have been met through a contract issued by the FCO.
	Many of our overseas' offices have contracts with local private security companies to guard residential properties. Each office would need to be contacted to provide details of the companies used and the value of each security contract. To obtain this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions the Government have had with President Rajapakse on aid to the Tamil people of North East Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary and I met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 7 March. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Dr. Howells) met the Sri Lankan President on 15 February. At these meetings we discussed the impact of the conflict on civilians of all ethnic groups and how the UK could best assist progress towards a settlement of Sri Lanka's tragic conflict.
	In September 2006 DFID gave US$1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN for immediate humanitarian assistance. We are considering how to respond to the UN's latest request for funding to its 2007 Common Humanitarian Action Plan.

Refuges

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was allocated by his Department in each of the last three years towards providing shelters and other emergency accommodation for those affected by domestic violence.

David Hanson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  The 'supporting people funding' provided by the Housing Executive for accommodation and support services for those affected by domestic violence 
			  £ 
			   2004-07( 1)  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Accommodation based 8,219,866.54 2,809,610.44 2,739,370.18 2,670,885.92 
			 Floating support services 2,421,522.90 827,694.22 807,001.86 786,826.82 
			 Total 10,641,389.44 3,637,304.66 3,546,372.04 3,457,712.74 
			 (1) Three year total 
		
	
	The total amount of housing benefit paid with respect to such accommodation over the last three financial years was £1,003,636.62. This is in addition to the figures detailed above.
	In the current financial year £676.439 in housing association grant has been allocated for the provision of accommodation to go on site this year.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

David Lidington: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Immigration Appeal Tribunal has sent the decision papers on cases VA/08797/2006, VA/08788/2006 and VA/08793/2006 in which the Immigration Judge ruled on 6 October 2006 to  (a) the Home Department and  (b) HM High Commission, Islamabad.

Bridget Prentice: Information shows that the Immigration Judge determinations for appeal references VA/08797/2006, VA/08788/2006 and VA/08793/2006 were served upon the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of the Home Office on 16 October 2006.
	In Entry Clearance and Family Visitor appeals the determination is served upon IND who will arrange for the forwarding of the determination to the entry clearance post that made the original refusal. Checks of the UK Visas database show that the determinations were received at HM High Commission in Islamabad on 9 November 2006.

Incapacity Benefit: Appeals

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average time was between submission of appeals against refusal of incapacity benefit and a decision being taken in each of the last three years.

Vera Baird: The information you have asked for is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  IB cleared appeals March 2003 to April 2006: Average clearance time from lodged to first hearing 
			   Weeks 
			  Financial year  Average clearance time 
			 2003-04 20.24 
			 2004-05 19.48 
			 2005-06 19.19 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 2. Figures for the latest months may increase substantially as information feeds through to the Appeals Service. 3. Migration of customer records from the existing Generic appeals processing systems (GAPS) to the new G2 system commenced on the 5 June 2006. Consequently during the migration period information from GAPS will over time diminish while G2 will increase and statistical data after May 2006 will not available until the new data processing procedures are in place. 4. "Lodged" denotes when an appeal is submitted to the first tier agency. Lodged data only enter the GAPS database when the appeal reaches the Appeals Service  Source: 100 per cent. download of the generic appeals processing system.

Incapacity Benefit: Appeals

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeals against refusal of incapacity benefit have been received in each of the last 12 months; and what the range of dates of submission was of the appeals that were considered in February 2002.

Vera Baird: The information you have asked for is not available in the format requested as data are not collated on the ranges of dates of appeal submissions that reach a tribunal hearing. At present, data can only be supplied up to the period March 2006 due to the change over of computer systems.
	The following table, therefore, provides information on the number of appeals against the refusal of incapacity benefit received in each of the 12 months between April 2005 and March 2006.
	
		
			  All incapacity benefit appeals in 2005-06 
			   Lodged  Received 
			  2005   
			 April 5,490 4,710 
			 May 5,500 4,860 
			 June 5,660 5,960 
			 July 5,090 5,700 
			 August 5,440 5,540 
			 September 5,110 5,260 
			 October 4,800 5,270 
			 November 5,440 5,780 
			 December 4,790 4,140 
			  2006   
			 January 4,890 5,410 
			 February 5,440 5,030 
			 March 6,690 5,980 
			
			 2005-06 64,320 63,650 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 2. Figures for the latest months may increase substantially as information feeds through to the Appeals Service. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. Migration of customer records from the existing generic appeals processing systems (GAPS) to the new G2 system commenced on the 5 June 2006. Consequently data after May 2006 are not available until the data from G2 are processed. 6. "Lodged" denotes when an appeal is submitted to the first tier agency. Lodged data only enter the GAPS database when the appeal reaches the Appeals Service. 7. "Received" denotes the number of appeals registered at the Appeals Service  Source: 100 per cent. download of the generic appeals processing system.

Africa: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Prime Minister if he will consider the merits of appointing a Minister for Africa in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with  (a) responsibility for improving relations with African countries and  (b) analogous responsibilities to the Minister for Europe.

Tony Blair: While my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has overall responsibility for Foreign Policy, day-to-day responsibility for the UK's relationship with Africa lies with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Lord Triesman of Tottenham. There are no current plans to review these ministerial responsibilities.

Broadband

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of telephone lines in  (a) England,  (b) Cheltenham Borough Council area and ( c) Springbank ward in Cheltenham that are able to support broadband; what definition he uses of broadband; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 12 March 2007
	In the UK, over 99.9 per cent. of households are connected to a broadband enabled exchange.
	However, not all of these households will necessarily be able to get broadband and there are two main reasons for this:
	1. there could be fibre in the network between the exchange and the household
	2. the telephone line could be too long to support broadband.
	It is difficult to be precise about the number of UK households that are able to receive a broadband service over the telephone line, but the figure of 99 per cent. probably represents a lower bound.
	It is not possible to provide data of this sort at a more local level.
	The definition of broadband that Ofcom uses in its economic market assessments is that it must have the following three characteristics:
	the service is always-on, i.e. no dial up is required. This feature allows the user to maintain a permanent connection to the network so allowing real time delivery of services such as email;
	it is possible to use both voice and data services simultaneously, whether they are provided together, for example over the same access route, or separately, perhaps using more than one access route; and
	it has a faster downstream speed than a dial up connection (essentially >128kbit/s).

Business Support

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by his Department on  (a) business support schemes and  (b) services to small businesses in each year since 2000.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 22 January 2007
	In answer to  (a), DTI has spent the following amounts on business support schemes since 2000:
	
		
			  Business support schemes 
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 279 
			 2001-02 461 
			 2002-03 414 
			 2003-04 317 
			 2004-05 312 
			 2005-06 381 
			  Note: DTI commenced the detailed tracking of the cost of specific business support schemes on a consistent basis from the 2003-04 financial year onwards. Therefore the information provided for earlier years is a best estimate. 
		
	
	In answer to  (b) DTI has spent the following amounts on services to small businesses—via the business link network—since 2000:
	
		
			  Business link network 
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 172 
			 2001-02 141 
			 2002-03 150 
			 2003-04 138 
			 2004-05 140 
			 2005-06 144 
			  Note: The business link network provides advice and support to c. 700,000 small businesses every year, at start up and growth stages, with the quality and reach of that advice increasing all the time.

Businesses: Orders and Regulations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) one-off cost and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Consumer Credit Regulations 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators.

Ian McCartney: The Regulatory Impact Assessments published alongside the regulations in 2004 estimated the costs to business as:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Regulation  One-off cost  Recurring cost 
			 Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Electronic Agreements) Order 2004 0 0 
			 Consumer Credit (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2004 Consumer Credit (Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 163.4 (1)— 
			 Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004 180 (2)2 
			 (1) Small unqualified increase in printing costs due to increased volume of information for consumers. (2) +60 transfer to consumers as a result of fairer early settlement terms. 
		
	
	These costs were offset by estimated benefits of £312 million a year (including the £60 million transfer to consumers through fairer early settlement terms).
	Costs to the regulators were expected to be limited to the cost of training staff in the new requirements.

Businesses: Orders and Regulations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) one-off cost and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators.

Anne McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
	(i) The cost to business of implementing the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004 was estimated to be £29 million over 10 years with an additional £16.2 million to £69 million one-off costs in the first year of compliance.
	These figures should be considered against the benefits of reducing the risks from hazardous substances. While total benefits could not be quantified, the value of the expected reduction in allergic contact dermatitis because of chromium VI restrictions was estimated at £18 million to £53 million over 10 years.
	(ii) Costs to the health and safety regulators were not quantified but were considered to be small, with the majority of costs being incurred in the development of guidance and being balanced out by savings in enforcement. The information in this reply was drawn from the final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the legislation that is available in the Library or on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/ria/index.htm
	The Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to meeting the Better Regulations challenge. HSE is constantly reviewing what can be done better to ensure that the right balance is struck between protecting people at work and avoiding unnecessary burdens on business. Reviewing and improving the guidance to help employers comply with COSHH is one of the aims in HSC/E's simplification plan.

Chlorofluorocarbons

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to phase out the remaining specialised uses of chlorofluorocarbons in the UK as required under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State for Public Health on 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 307W, on essential uses of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and replacement of CFC-based asthma inhalers.
	Under the Montreal protocol and related EC legislation, essential use exemptions are also available for laboratory and analytical uses of CFCs. Two UK companies have been allocated small amounts of CFCs for these purposes in 2007.
	The European Commission may also authorise temporary exemptions for CFCs in existing military applications until 31 December 2008, where it can be demonstrated that technically and economically feasible alternative substances or technologies are not available or cannot be used. There is some limited use of CFCs for these purposes in the UK.
	The European Commission has begun a wide-ranging review of EC Regulation 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer, in consultation with member states and stakeholders, including the continuing need for essential use exemptions.

Employment: Foreign Investment in UK

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of additional jobs created by foreign direct investment into the UK in each year since 2000.

Ian McCartney: Cumulatively, over the period 2000-01 and 2005-06, inward Foreign Direct Investment projects in the UK reported creation of 239,103 new jobs and 221,001 jobs safeguarded.
	No data on net additional UK jobs are available, but as there is good evidence that inward Foreign Direct Investment makes a strong contribution to the productivity and competitiveness of the UK economy, the overall impact on UK employment is expected to be positive.

Employment: Regulation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Employment Relations Act to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 (European Works Councils) to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Working Time Regulations 1999 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Employment Act 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) his Department;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring cost of implementing the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring cost of implementing the Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) recurring cost of implementing the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI is totally committed to better regulation. On 11 December it published an ambitious Simplification Plan to reduce administrative burdens by 25 per cent. per year by 2010. The plan is a key part of an ongoing commitment to reducing unnecessary red tape and to making essential regulation simpler and more streamlined.
	Details in respect of these seven questions are set out as follows:
	 125593
	 The Employment Relations Act
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Employment Relations Bill 1999 can be found from page 30 in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 06/955. (Figures are in 1998 prices).
	 125595
	 The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 (European Works Councils)
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 can be found from page 174 in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 06/955. (Figures are in 1999 prices).
	 125598
	 The Working Time Regulations 1999
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Working Time Regulations 1999 can be found from page 117 in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 06/955.
	 125601
	 The Employment Act 2002
	An assessment of the costs and benefits of the different legislation contained within the Employment Act 2002 can be found in the following DTI publications: "Employment Relations Research Series No. 40: 2002 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 05/582; "Employment Relations Research Series No. 28: 2003 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 04/743; and "Employment Relations Research Series No. 44: Employment Relations Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 2005", URN 05/1019.
	 125613
	 The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 can be found from page 1 in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 60: 2000 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments" URN 06/1164.
	 125616
	 The Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Parental Leave Regulations: changes to extend entitlement can be found from page 112 in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 52: 2001 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 06/927. The costs in part A of the RIA, associated with extending parental leave entitlements to all parents of children under five as at December 1999, no longer apply. The costs in part B of the RIA associated with providing additional leave for the parents of disabled children are ongoing.
	 125589
	 The Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002
	The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 can be found in the DTI publication "Employment Relations Research Series No. 40: 2002 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments", URN 05/582.

Equity

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what percentage of companies private equity groups own over 50 per cent. of shares in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North East region and  (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Ian McCartney: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Imports: Namibia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of imports from Namibia to the UK was in  (a) 2001 and  (b) 2006; and what the top three products imported were by (i) volume and (ii) value.

Ian McCartney: UK imports of goods to Namibia were worth about £316.5 million in 2001 and £346.6 million in 2006 on an Overseas Trade Statistics basis. Figures for trade in services with Namibia are not available.
	The Standard International Trade Classification divisions with the largest UK imports from Namibia are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  (a)(i) By weight in 2001 
			   Tonnes 
			 01: Meat and meat preparations 8,589 
			 03: Fish, crustaceans, molluscs etc. 2,868 
			 28: Metalliferous ores and metal scrap 1,595 
		
	
	
		
			  (a)(ii) By value in 2001 
			   £ million 
			 66: Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes 238.9 
			 28: Metalliferous ores and metal scrap 43.1 
			 01: Meat and meat preparations 29.0 
		
	
	
		
			  (b)(i) By weight in 2006 
			   Tonnes 
			 24: Cork and wood 5,250 
			 01: Meat and meat preparations 3,524 
			 03: Fish, crustaceans, molluscs etc 1,568 
		
	
	
		
			  (b)(ii) By value in 2006 
			   £ million 
			 66: Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes 327.6 
			 01 : Meat and meat preparations 11.7 
			 24: Cork and wood 1.8 
			  Notes:  1..nes: not elsewhere specified.  2. For UK imports from Namibia, non-metallic mineral manufactures nes are primarily diamonds.   Source:  HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics.

Renewable Energy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of feed-in tariffs for the propagation of renewable energy; and whether he has investigated whether it would be possible to migrate from a system based upon renewable obligation certificates to one of feed-in tariffs.

Malcolm Wicks: The renewables obligation (RO) was introduced in 2002 to replace the previous support scheme, the Non Fossil Fuels Obligation (NFFO), which was a form of a feed in tariff. It was introduced as a means of encouraging greater deployment of renewables, providing investor confidence, and increasing value for money for the consumer. A review of the RO, carried out in 2005-06, confirmed that the RO was a more successful mechanism. Since its introduction eligible renewable electricity generated under the scheme has increased to 4.0 per cent of total electricity sales to UK consumers in 2005 up from 1.8 per cent. in 2002, compared to an increase under the NFFO from 0.2 per cent. of electricity sales in 1992 to 1.8 per cent. in 2002.
	The Energy Review has confirmed the Government's commitment to the renewables obligation as the mechanism to support deployment of renewables. The Government has recently consulted on its proposals to reform the RO. A consultation document, "Reform of the Renewables Obligation and Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2007", was published 9 October 2006 and 206 responses were received. This Government will be considering all issues that have been raised.
	An announcement on the results of the consultation will be made in the Energy White Paper due to be published in March or May of this year.

Trade Promotion

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when a minister in his Department last visited  (a) Chile,  (b) Brazil,  (c) Argentina,  (d) Mexico,  (e) Uruguay,  (f) Venezuela,  (g) Bolivia and  (h) Columbia on (i) a trade promotion visit and (ii) a visit in connection with other Departmental responsibilities.

Alistair Darling: The most recent visits by Ministers are as follows:
	
		
			   Visits 
			  (a) Chile 2002 
			  (b) Brazil September 2006 
			  (c) Argentina October 2000 
			  (d) Mexico October 2006 
			  (e) Uruguay No visits 
			  (f) Venezuela December 2000 
			  (g) Bolivia September 2002 
			  (h) Colombia No visits 
		
	
	Visit cover both trade promotion and other Departmental responsibilities.

Trade Promotion

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when a Minister in his Department last visited  (a) the US,  (b) Canada,  (c) Japan,  (d) Russia and  (e) Australia on (i) a trade promotion visit and (ii) a visit in connection with other Departmental responsibilities.

Alistair Darling: The Most recent visits by Ministers are as follows:
	
		
			   Visits 
			  (a) US October 2006 
			  (b) Canada April 2004 
			  (c) Japan September 2006 
			  (d) Russia February 2007 
			  (e) Australia November 2006 
		
	
	Visits cover both trade promotion and other Departmental responsibilities.

Ukraine: World Trade Organisation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings he has held on the EU-Ukraine trade agreement; and what meetings he has held on the date of Ukrainian accession to the World Trade Organisation.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary for Trade and Industry, has not held any meetings regarding the EU-Ukraine trade agreement, or regarding the date of Ukrainian accession to the World Trade Organisation. I have not held any such meetings either.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, discussed the proposed new enhanced EU-Ukraine Agreement, which will include a Free Trade Agreement, and prospects for Ukraine's accession to the WTO, with the President and Prime Minister of Ukraine during his visit to Kiev on 26 and 27 February.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the overall subsidies to the wind energy sector were for  (a) Scotland,  (b) England,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's main instrument for supporting renewables in England and Wales is the Renewables Obligation (RO), in Scotland it is the RO Scotland (ROS) and in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland RO (NIRO).
	The RO (ROS and NIRO) is a market based support mechanism that requires licensed electricity suppliers to provide a specified and growing proportion of their electricity from eligible renewable sources. Wind farms are one of the technologies supported under the RO. This provides an assured market for renewable electricity and ensures that it attracts a premium.
	The full details for the past five years RO support to wind energy by UK country could be calculated but at a disproportionate cost. However details for the past two years have been calculated. The figures used for this calculation are based on the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets' (Ofgem) calculation of a Renewable Obligation Certificate's worth to a supplier (the buy-out price avoided plus the recycled buy-out fund amount).
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Onshore  Offshore 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England and Wales 35.7 42.6 12.5 20.7 
			 Scotland 48.4 57.0 — — 
			 Northern Ireland — 10.8 — — 
			 Total 84.1 11 0.4 12.5 20.7 
		
	
	Aside from the RO, to date, the Government have committed £107 million in grant support towards the capital installation of offshore wind farm development. These offshore wind farms are all based off the coast of England.
	Additional support for onshore wind has in the recent past been given under the clear skies scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The total for these projects was:
	
		
			   England  Wales  Northern Ireland 
			 2003 305,870 12,500 69,986 
			 2004 343,245 8,818 139,654 
			 2005 610,035 83,959 308,474 
			 2006 95,700 5,000 30,000 
			 (1) Scheme launch 
		
	
	In Scotland, the Scottish Executive provides funding for the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) which was launched in 2002. Under this scheme, grants are awarded to eligible householders or not-for-profit community groups for the installation of renewable technologies including micro-wind turbines. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of grant commitments by year. However, as of January 2007, SCHRI capital grants with a total value of £1.7 million have been allocated to 152 projects where wind is one of up to two technologies installed with the grant.

Employment Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on employment zones in each year since 1998.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 7 March 2007
	The information is in the following table.
	
		
			   Employment Zone spend (£ million) 
			 1998-99 1 
			 1999-2000 1 
			 2000-01 72 
			 2001-02 96 
			 2002-03 94 
			 2003-04 84 
			 2004-05 75 
			 2005-06 92 
			  Notes: 1. Employment Zones started in April 2000 but prototype Employment Zones operated during 1998 and 1999 which accounts for the spend during those years.  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest million.  3. Information is up to March 2006.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Financial Division.

New Deal

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on all new deal programmes in each year since 1996-97 in 2003-04 prices; how much he estimates will be spent in each of the next three years in 2003-04 prices; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal expenditure at 2003-04 prices 
			£ million 
			 1997-98 Outturn 50 
			 1998-99 Outturn 353 
			 1999-2000 Outturn 591 
			 2000-01 Outturn 648 
			 2001-02 Outturn 713 
			 2002-03 Outturn 758 
			 2003-04 Outturn 655 
			 2004-05 Outturn 622 
			 2005-06 Outturn 532 
			 2006-07 Budget 550 
			 2007-08 Planned 573 
			  Notes:  1. Factors used to calculate 2003-04 prices are taken from Treasury Gross Domestic Product deflators.  2. The earliest reported costs for new deal are for the financial year 1997-98 as the programme started in January 1998.  3. Figure for 2008-09 are not available.  Source:  Jobcentre Plus Financial Reporting and Control Team Notes:

New Deal

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why spending on new deal programmes for  (a) 18 to 24-year-olds and  (b) 25 year olds and over was reduced between 2004-05 and 2005-06; what budget has been set for 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Between them, the mandatory new deal programmes have been successful in helping more than 965,000 people into work. New deal streamlining measures were announced in the Chancellor's 2003 budget statement. Spending on both new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus decreased partly because of these changes, which started in 2004-05 but were more fully implemented in 2005-06. The most substantial change was to reduce the minimum period of time participants would spend on the option stage of the programme from 26 to 13 weeks.
	Evidence indicates that two thirds of all mandatory new deal job outcomes occur before the options stage, and most outcomes that do occur during options are achieved during the first 13 weeks. The programmes continue to ensure that participants who need additional help to get into work receive it, for example by spending more than 13 weeks on the option stage of the programme.
	Budgeted expenditure for 2006-07 is £225 million for new deal for young people and £157 million for new deal 25 plus.

New Deal

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on the new deal in each year since 2003-04; and what spending is planned in each year to 2009-10.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table. Figures for 2008-09 and 2009-10 are not available.
	
		
			   New deal spend since 2003-04 (£ million) 
			 2003-04(1) 655 
			 2004-05(1) 639 
			 2005-06(1) 538 
			 2006-07(1) 590 
			 2007-08(3) 631 
			 (1) Actual spend (2) Budgeted spend. (3) Planned spend.  Notes: 1. Latest confirmed spend figures are to March 2006.  2. Figures include all new deal programme costs, staff costs, and allowances paid to participants, apart from the 50 plus element of the working tax credit, which is the responsibility of HMRC.  3. Figures are rounded to the nearest £ million.  Sources:  DWP Financial Strategy Division, DWP Financial Control Division, DWP Information Directorate.

New Deal for Lone Parents: Take-up

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants there were in the new deal for lone parents each month since 1998; and how many in each month successfully found employment.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 8 February 2007
	The information is in the table:
	
		
			  New deal for lone parents 
			  Month/year  Participants  People gaining a job 
			  1998   
			 November 10,820 1,220 
			 December 13,070 830 
			
			  1999   
			 January 19,380 1,480 
			 February 27,240 1,990 
			 March 35,540 2,460 
			 April 39,960 3,170 
			 May 42,440 2,760 
			 June 43,620 2,640 
			 July 45,310 2,910 
			 August 46,320 2,180 
			 September 50,200 3,270 
			 October 54,770 5,490 
			 November 56,190 4,810 
			 December 51,650 2,890 
			
			  2000   
			 January 53,230 3,290 
			 February 56,710 3,670 
			 March 60,410 5,060 
			 April 61,730 3,680 
			 May 62,810 3,900 
			 June 63,440 4,920 
			 July 63,420 3,760 
			 August 62,820 3,470 
			 September 65,590 6,030 
			 October 65,950 5,000 
			 November 64,570 5,150 
			 December 60,710 3,940 
			
			  2001   
			 January 61,620 3,620 
			 February 62,630 3,810 
			 March 63,450 5,140 
			 April 61,820 4,170 
			 May 60,970 4,160 
			 June 60,750 4,990 
			 July 60,530 3,880 
			 August 60,610 4,400 
			 September 62,220 5,880 
			 October 60,550 5,840 
			 November 61,280 7,190 
			 December 59,310 3,360 
			
			  2002   
			 January 61,860 4,060 
			 February 65,150 4,780 
			 March 68,990 6,380 
			 April 69,800 5,290 
			 May 72,970 7,030 
			 June 74,700 5,250 
			 July 76,120 5,200 
			 August 76,390 6,600 
			 September 81,460 8,200 
			 October 82,460 7,210 
			 November 81,490 8,000 
			 December 77,480 3,360 
			
			  2003   
			 January 79,080 5,210 
			 February 80,750 4,590 
			 March 81,850 4,860 
			 April 82,190 4,540 
			 May 82,610 6,320 
			 June 84,270 5,550 
			 July 84,570 5,190 
			 August 84,730 5,840 
			 September 88,220 8,400 
			 October 90,380 9,750 
			 November 89,970 7,460 
			 December 85,890 4,620 
			
			  2004   
			 January 87,040 6,580 
			 February 89,110 5,930 
			 March 89,970 6,610 
			 April 88,810 7,470 
			 May 87,690 6,650 
			 June 85,690 6,000 
			 July 82,640 6,990 
			 August 80,390 5,300 
			 September 80,390 8,290 
			 October 81,060 10,630 
			 November 79,270 8,310 
			 December 72,650 5,250 
			
			  2005   
			 January 73,980 5,560 
			 February 74,570 6,220 
			 March 73,990 5,330 
			 April 72,950 7,260 
			 May 70,650 6,150 
			 June 68,660 5,340 
			 July 66,970 5,810 
			 August 65,680 4,390 
			 September 68,180 8,660 
			 October 68,180 6,880 
			 November 67,120 6,580 
			 December 62,410 4,360 
			
			  2006   
			 January 63,100 4,230 
			 February 64,140 4,800 
			 March 63,450 6,220 
			 April 60,700 4,350 
			 May 58,300 4,290 
			 June 56,870 4,810 
			 July 54,910 3,510 
			 August 53,040 3,270 
			  Notes: 1. The table includes separate figures for the number of people participating in a particular month, and the number of people gaining a job in a particular month. 2. People participating in a particular month may have gained a job in a subsequent month, and so will be recorded in that month as gaining a job. 3. New deal for lone parents started in October 1998. 4. Latest data is to August 2006.  Source:  Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions

Pensioners: Leicester

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners live in the Leicester local authority area; how many are in receipt of council tax benefit; and what percentage this is of the total number of pensioners living in the local authority area.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Council tax benefit (CTB) recipients, Leicester local authority, August 2006 
			   Number/Percentage 
			 CTB recipients aged 60 and over 15,190 
			 Population aged 60 and over 47,100 
			 Percentage of population aged 60 and over claiming CTB 32.3 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Case loads have been rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages to 1 decimal place. 3. Council tax benefit figures exclude second adult rebate cases. 4. 'Aged 60 and over' is defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over. Therefore figures will contain some claimants aged under 60 where there is a partner aged over 60 years. 5. The data refers to benefit units which may be a single person or a couple.  Sources: 1. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. case load stock-count taken in August 2006. 2. Office for National Statistics mid-2005 population estimates.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many user visits the benefit theft website received in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The DWP targeting benefit fraud was re-launched as targeting benefit thieves in November 2006. On the site at www.dwp.gov.uk/benefit-thieves people can anonymously report someone they suspect of committing benefit theft.
	The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of visits to the targeting benefit fraud and targeting benefit thieves websites 
			  Targeting benefit fraud  Visits  Unique visitors 
			 February 2006 71,739 18,219 
			 March 2006 80,495 21,495 
			 April 2006 57,562 16,009 
			 May 2006 62,886 17,552 
			 June 2006 54,367 15,596 
			 July 2006 56,061 17,252 
			 August 2006 56,865 17,834 
			 September 2006 55,001 17,468 
			 October 2006 49,487 16,173 
			
			  Targeting benefit thieves   
			 November 2006 184,133 19,972 
			 December 2006 101,424 13,739 
			 January 2007 153,663 22,982 
			  Notes:  1. Visits - Number of times a visitor or visitors came to the site. Each visit is recorded separately for every visit more than thirty minutes apart.  2. Unique Visitors - Individuals who visited the site during the report period. If someone visits more than once, they are counted only the first time they visit.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on promoting the benefit fraud hotline in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The Department runs the benefit fraud communications campaign primarily to positively reinforce honest behaviour, create a climate of intolerance to benefit fraud and to undermine its social acceptability.
	The figure given as follows represents media expenditure for those elements of the campaign which include promotion of the national benefit fraud hotline.
	Advertising expenditure is only available on an annual basis. Advertising expenditure for the last full 12 month period is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Advertising spend (£000) 
			 2005-06 5,055 
			  Notes:  1. All figures are exclusive of VAT.  2. The figures in these tables refer to media spend only, excluding production and other costs.  3. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

Winter Fuel Payments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households claimed winter fuel payments in each financial year since 2001-02; and how many have claimed in 2006-07.

James Purnell: The following table shows the number of household payments made from winter 2002-03. Information is not available for earlier years. Figures for winter 2006-07 are not yet available but we expect the number to be similar to that for winter 2005-06.
	
		
			   Household payments made 
			 2002-03 8,100,040 
			 2003-04 8,166,350 
			 2004-05 8,377,370 
			 2005-06 8,506,750 
			  Notes:  1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Any residence found to have four or more occupants aged 60 and over is not included in the household figures as it is assumed to be a care home.  Source:  Information directorate 100 per cent. data.

National Land and Property Gazetteer

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the National Land and Property Gazetteer's Data Entry Conventions and Best Practice Guide.

Ruth Kelly: The National Land and Property Gazetteer is the responsibility of the Improvement and Development Agency. The requested guide is available at http://www.nlpg.org.uk/documents/LLPG_SNN_best_practice_v2.pdf and a copy has been placed in the Library.

Council Housing: Greater London

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenants in  (a) arms length management organisation,  (b) council managed and  (c) housing association managed properties there are in London in each borough.

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not collect the number of tenants in the properties my hon. Friend refers to. However, it has collected on a provisional basis the numbers of rented dwellings which those organisations manage on 1 April 2006, which the following table shows:
	
		
			  Authority  Number of dwellings managed directly by local authority( 1)  Number of dwellings managed by arms length management organisations (ALMOs)( 1)  Number of dwellings managed by housing associations or registered social landlords (RSLs)( 2) 
			 Barking 19,985 0 2,494 
			 Barnet 0 11,106 6,588 
			 Bexley 0 0 11,766 
			 Brent 0 9,608 13,827 
			 Bromley 0 0 15,403 
			 Camden 24,581 0 10,840 
			 Croydon 14,159 0 9,117 
			 Ealing 0 13,874 10,945 
			 Enfield 11,956 0 6,675 
			 Greenwich 25,024 0 9,568 
			 Hackney 0 (4)21,324 21,927 
			 Hammersmith 0 13,261 12,151 
			 Haringey 0 16,431 12,738 
			 Harrow 5,089 0 3,683 
			 Havering 0 10,411 2,619 
			 Hillingdon 0 10,838 5,958 
			 Hounslow 0 13,649 6,751 
			 Islington 0 25,189 1 1,934 
			 Kensington 0 6,961 12,114 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,863 0 2,355 
			 Lambeth (3)26,758 (3)3,189 19,005 
			 Lewisham (3)13,321 (3)12,642 8,588 
			 London (City of) 1,897 0 249 
			 Merton 6,609 0 4,461 
			 Newham 0 (4)17,814 11,524 
			 Redbridge 4,741 0 4,112 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 0 0 9,473 
			 Southwark 41,482 0 14,043 
			 Sutton 0 6,897 4,397 
			 Tower Hamlets 17,647 0 20,519 
			 Waltham Forest 0 10,671 10,211 
			 Wandsworth 17,296 0 9,971 
			 Westminster 0 12,335 12,934 
			 Total 235,408 216,200 318,940 
			 (1) Figures in these two columns exclude shared ownership dwellings and dwellings managed under the private finance initiative (PFI). They are derived from the Housing Revenue Account Base Data Return 2007-08 submitted by local authorities to the Department in October 2006, and are subject to what is said in notes 3 and 4. (2) Figures in this column were collected from local authorities by the 2006 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. They include dwellings owned or leased by landlords registered with the Housing Corporation, local authority dwellings leased exclusively by an RSL, and housing association dwellings that are not registered with the Housing Corporation. They exclude dwellings managed but not owned by RSLs and any dwellings sold under shared ownership or rents to mortgage schemes. (3) Figures for Lambeth and Lewisham in these two columns are derived from the number of tenanted dwellings in their ALMOs at the time of their establishment in 2005 and 2007 respectively. In practice, Right to Buy sales (RTB) since then are likely to mean that the number of ALMO tenanted dwellings and dwellings managed directly the local authority are slightly different. (4) Number of dwellings at the time of the establishment of the ALMO in 2005. In practice RTB sales are likely to mean that dwellings are slightly fewer.

Council Tax: Appeals

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals against council tax bandings were  (a) made and  (b) successful in England in each year since the introduction of council tax.

Ruth Kelly: For information about council tax banding appeals between 2000-01 and 2004-05 I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 February 2006,  Official Report, column 2239W, given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles). The Valuation Tribunal Service has held information centrally on the number of successful appeals since the beginning of 2006-07. Information for that year up to 31 December 2006 and for the number of appeals in 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of council tax banding appeals  Number of appeals requiring full tribunal hearing  Number successful 
			 2005-06 23,199 n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 (to 31 December 2006) 17,464 1149 473 
			 n/a = Not available.

Non-Domestic Rates: Broadband

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with other Government Departments on the potential impact on the Government's digital strategy of making local loop unbundling operators subject to non-domestic rates liability for unbundled local loops; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1687W, by my hon. Friend for Barking (Margaret Hodge) to the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff).

Regional Government: Manpower

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by each regional Government office in England in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006.

Ruth Kelly: The number of permanent, fixed term and casual staff working for each Government office for the regions, including those temporarily away from the office on secondment, loan, maternity leave, career break and special leave without pay, in March of each year, was as follows. Full-time equivalent (FTE) figures are not available for 1997:
	
		
			   March 1997  March 2006 
			   Headcount  FTE  Headcount  FTE 
			 GO East 182 — 278 267.4 
			 GO East Midlands 234 — 280 270.0 
			 GO London 274 — 313 307.6 
			 GO North East 284 — 317 302.5 
			 GO North West(1) 428 — 372 357.2 
			 GO South East 224 — 319 299.3 
			 GO South West 139 — 325 309.2 
			 GO West Midlands 336 — 301 286.7 
			 GO Yorkshire and Humber 288 — 294 280.7 
			 Total GO network 2,389 — 2,799 2,680.6 
			 (1) For 1997 figures include staff in Government office for Merseyside, which was merged with GO North West on 1 April 1998. 
		
	
	Since March 2006, the total number of staff has fallen to 2,450 (2,353 FTE) in February 2007 and is expected to fall to about 200 by December 2008.
	In 1997 the Government office network represented the interests of four Whitehall Departments. Today the network delivers on behalf of 10 Departments.

Gun Crime

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the prevalence of gun crime in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: Gun crime (including air weapons) has increased since 1997, there has been a decrease in the total number of firearms offences over the last two years, from 24,094 in 2002-03 to 22,896 in 2004-05 and 21,521 in 2005-06. There were 50 homicides involving firearms (including air weapons) in 2005-06, a decrease of 36 per cent. from 78 the previous year and the lowest recorded since 1998-99.

Bail Act

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Solicitor-General and the Minister for Constitutional Affairs on the operation of the Bail Act 1976.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The operation of the Bail Act is kept under continuous review by the criminal justice departments with the aims of ensuring that appropriate decisions are made as to whether to release a defendant on bail or remand in custody, and of improving the processes which underpin the management of bail when granted. The 'Rebalancing the Criminal .Justice System' Review published last July included a range of commitments to ensure that defendants who breach bail are returned to court quickly and dealt with robustly.

Prisoner Literacy

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to improve the literacy of prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the cross Government plan to reduce re-offending, the strategy for improving skills outcomes for offenders was set out in the Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment'. This followed and builds on the work of the Learning and Skills Council in rolling out its new Offender Learning and Skills Service nationally from July 2006. The plans outlined in the Green Paper are being taken forward in 'Reducing Re-offending Through Skills and Employment: Next Steps', published in December 2006 which furthers the focus on developing offender skills resulting in more obtaining sustainable employment.

Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Directorate

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often he holds meetings with the Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Directorate.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 8 March 2007
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary(Dr. John Reid) holds regular meetings with officials from the Home Office's Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Directorate.

Crime: Computers

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prosecutions were brought and  (b) convictions obtained in the last five years for offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested, taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, England and Wales 2001-2005( 1,2) 
			2001  2002  2003 
			  Offence description  Principal statute  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences Computer Misuse Act 1990 S.2 4 3 6 5 9 3 
			 Unauthorised modification of computer material(3) Computer Misuse Act 1990 S.3 12 12 8 7 3 1 
			 Unauthorised access to computer material Computer Misuse Act 1990 S.1 9 9 4 2 7 1 
		
	
	
		
			2004  2005 
			  Offence description  Principal statute  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against 
			 Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences Computer Misuse Act 1990 S.2 6 2 11 7 
			 Unauthorised modification of computer material(3) Computer Misuse Act 1990 S.3 10 7 8 5 
			 Unauthorised access to computer material Computer Misuse Act 1990 .1 5 3 5 4 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  3 Data for Essex police force area for this offence in 2001 show 7 convictions for which there are no prosecutions. These data have been omitted from the table.   Source:  RDS - Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Foreign National Prisoners

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 104W, on foreign national prisoners, what estimate he has made of the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) time which would be required to cross reference the electronic records held by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the offences committed by the foreign nationals released from HMP Peterborough in the last 12 months to 31 March 2007 with the prisoner discharge records held manually at HMP Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As I previously outlined in my answers to the hon. Gentleman, the requested information on the offences committed by foreign nationals released from HMP Peterborough in the last 12 months to 31 March 2006 could be obtained only by exceeding the £600 cost limit for answering parliamentary questions.

Internet: Crime

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Internet Watch Foundation on video clips on websites which show  (a) violence and physical assaults and  (b) criminal damage.

Vernon Coaker: The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is the only authorised organisation in the UK operating an internet 'hotline' for the public to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online. Their aim is to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content, specifically child abuse images hosted anywhere in the world; criminally obscene content hosted in the UK; and, incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK. While we work closely with the IWF on these issues, we have not had any discussions with them about video clips on websites which show violence, physical assaults or criminal damage as these issues are outside of their remit.
	In terms of industry regulation, the vast majority of the UK internet industry takes a responsible approach to what content it hosts, both of its own volition and in co-operation with law enforcement and Government agencies. Where the industry is advised that content it hosts contravenes UK legislation, it will remove it. In addition, internet service providers (ISPs) also have contracts with their customers concerning what may be hosted on their servers called acceptable use policies (AUPs) which allows them to remove offensive or objectionable material, even if it is not illegal. Anyone concerned about the contents of a website should approach the relevant ISP hosting the site and ask them to consider whether it breaches their AUP.

Metropolitan Police: Finance

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding per head of the population in London the Metropolitan police force received for  (a) local,  (b) regional and  (c) national policing purposes in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The Police Grant Settlement 2007-08 is based on the police funding formula which provides an assessment of the relative need of each police force in England and Wales. This assessment is based on the social characteristics of each police authority, including its population, which are considered to affect the level of demand for police services in the community. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) also receives a range of specific grants to reflect its local and national responsibilities.
	The MPS continues to receive an annual special payment as part of its police grant, in recognition of its unique capital city and national functions.
	Details for the last five years are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Metropolitan Police Service funding 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			   million 
			   General grant  Specific grants  Total 
			 2003-04 1,764.1 288.3 2,052.4 
			 2004-05 1,822.0 311.1 2,133.1 
			 2005-06 1,763.6 490.9 2,254.5 
			 2006-07 1,823.5 558.9 2,382.4 
			 2007-08 1,883.7 578.4 2,462.1 
			  Notes:  1. Prior to 2006-07 pensions and security arrangements were included within General Grant. General Grant figure for 2005-06 has been adjusted to allow direct comparison with 2006-07.  2. The MPS continues to receive an annual special payment as part of its police grant in recognition of its unique capital city and national functions. This was 192 million in 2007-08.

Road Traffic Control: Eastern Region

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) traffic enforcement officers,  (b) traffic wardens and  (c) council parking attendants were operating in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire, (vi) Norfolk, (vii) St. Edmundsbury borough council area and (viii) Mid Suffolk district council area in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Data for the numbers of traffic wardens and traffic enforcement officers are not centrally collected at the district or borough level, however data for the numbers of traffic wardens and for the numbers of officers whose primary function is traffic are collected at force level and are given in the tables. There has over the years been a transfer of responsibility for traffic wardens from the police to local authorities.
	Data on the number of council parking attendants are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Traffic warden strength as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1) 
			   31 March 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Bedfordshire 31 26 10 9 3 3 2 2 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 39 33 38 35 38 36 35 17 0 0 
			 Essex 136 123 121 102 82 59 38 21 8 7 
			 Hertfordshire 72 55 44 38 45 42 38 9 0 0 
			 Norfolk 43 43 40 37 33 34 33 31 28 26 
			 Suffolk 33 32 33 31 29 29 25 25 20 18 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures up to 31 March 2002 exclude staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Stop and Search

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) stop and account and  (b) stop and search forms were completed by each police force in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 February 2007
	The last year for which figures are available for stop and searches are 2004-05 and are shown in the following table below. These figures reflect the number of stop and searches recorded by each police force area in relation to powers under section one of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and other legislation; section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
	From one April 2005, police forces have been required to collect figures on the recording of encounters by police officers in accordance with paragraphs 4.11 - 4.20 of the PACE code of practice on exercise by police officers of statutory powers of stop and search (Code A). Issues relating to the quality and completeness of the 2005-06 figures mean they remain subject to further work before they can be published by the Home Office, however police forces are able to use their data for local accountability.
	
		
			  'Stop and searches' of persons under s1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and other legislation, 2004-05 
			  Police force area  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 17,897 
			 Bedfordshire 3,507 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,328 
			 Cheshire 13,536 
			 Cleveland 14,367 
			 Cumbria 5,702 
			 Derbyshire 10,592 
			 Devon and Cornwall 21,096 
			 Dorset 6,160 
			 Durham 9,317 
			 Essex 8,131 
			 Gloucestershire 4,018 
			 Greater Manchester 58,118 
			 Hampshire 24,336 
			 Hertfordshire 12,083 
			 Humberside 6,159 
			 Kent 11,482 
			 Lancashire 21,642 
			 Leicestershire 13,597 
			 Lincolnshire 6,878 
			 London, City of 6,915 
			 Merseyside 21,354 
			 Metropolitan Police 237,104 
			 Norfolk 6,345 
			 Northamptonshire 7,123 
			 Northumbria 24,698 
			 North Yorkshire 3,832 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,318 
			 South Yorkshire 24,151 
			 Staffordshire 19,525 
			 Suffolk 4,274 
			 Surrey 9,755 
			 Sussex 12,312 
			 Thames Valley 20,542 
			 Warwickshire 5,713 
			 West Mercia 9,327 
			 West Midlands 30,119 
			 West Yorkshire 74,256 
			 Wiltshire 4,648 
			 Dyfed-Powys 8,316 
			 Gwent 6,059 
			 North Wales 11,899 
			 South Wales 13,446 
			   
			 England and Wales 839,977 
			  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Vandalism

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of vandalism were reported in  (a) England,  (b) Suffolk,  (c) Bedfordshire,  (d) Cambridgeshire,  (e) Essex,  (f) Hertfordshire and  (g) Norfolk in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The available information relates to offences of criminal damage recorded by the police and the information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police1997 
			   Number 
			 England 822,029 
			 Suffolk 7,835 
			 Bedfordshire 8,025 
			 Cambridgeshire 9,250 
			 Essex 18,845 
			 Hertfordshire 9,831 
			 Norfolk 9,782 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Number 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 England 823,520 890,756 906,800 1,007,634 
			 Suffolk 7,898 9,547 10,150 12,095 
			 Bedfordshire 7,893 8,048 7,892 8,191 
			 Cambridgeshire 11,925 12,110 13,197 13,972 
			 Essex 18,834 21,766 24,673 26,990 
			 Hertfordshire 10,177 11,560 13,839 15,302 
			 Norfolk 10,393 10,978 11,481 13,065 
			  Note:  1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997.  2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  Number 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 1,043,197 1,139,308 1,121,057 1,107,752 
			 Suffolk 11,497 12,817 12,781 13,067 
			 Bedfordshire 10,050 11,065 10,561 10,817 
			 Cambridgeshire 16,153 16,534 16,227 14,680 
			 Essex 30,337 34,253 32,406 30,564 
			 Hertfordshire 17,988 19,887 20,762 20,986 
			 Norfolk 16,030 17,462 17,470 17,577 
			  Note:  The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Young Offenders: Mental Health Services

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were referred to  (a) acute local child and adolescent mental health services and  (b) non-acute local child and adolescent mental health services in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) by youth offending teams for each year since 2002 
			   Acute  Non-acute 
			 2002 510 2,052 
			 2003 936 6,427 
			 2004 833 6,102 
			 2005 689 5,937 
			 2006 525 6,440 
			  Source: Youth Justice Board. 
		
	
	A combined screening and assessment method for mental health, physical health and substance misuse of young people in the young peoples estate is currently in development and planning for the implementation stage is under way. This project is supported by a cross departmental working group of National Treatment Agency, Youth Justice Board, Prison Health and Prison Service Women and Young People Group.
	A new framework Promoting Mental Health for Children held in Secure Settings: A Framework for Commissioning Services, developed in partnership by the Department of Health, Home Office, Youth Justice Board and Department for Education and Skills, will be launched this month and will set out best practice guidelines for commissioning services for children in secure settings.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of young people in  (a) Penrith and The Border constituency,  (b) Cumbria,  (c) the North West and  (d) England received education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception; and how many received (i) 30, (ii) 20 and (iii) 10 a week in each case in each year.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the DfES and hold the information about take-up and payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 12 March 2007:
	 I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 124005 that asked: What percentage of young people in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency, (b) Cumbria, (c) the North West and (d) England received education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception; and how many received (i) 30, (ii) 20 and (iii) 10 a week in each case in each year.
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is available at Local Authority Level, but not at constituency level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	The following tables show EMA take-up data split by payment band for Cumbria Local Authority area, the North West and England during each academic year since the scheme's inception.
	
		
			  Take-up of EMA in each academic year 
			   Band  
			   30  20  10  Total 
			  2004/05 
			 Cumbria 1,666 226 268 2,160 
			 North West 42,295 4,340 4,379 51,014 
			 England 242,262 27,398 27,599 297,259 
			  
			  2005/06 
			 Cumbria 2,985 405 358 3,748 
			 North West 58,732 5,771 4,363 68,866 
			 England 359,213 39,824 30,590 429,627 
			  
			  2006/07(1) 
			 Cumbria 3,505 500 471 4,476 
			 North West 66,975 7,391 6,386 80,752 
			 England 409,303 50,170 44,268 503,741 
			 (1 )To end February. 
		
	
	In the first year of national roll-out, EMA was available to all 16-years-old across England and to 17 and 18-year-olds in former pilot areas. (Young people aged 19 were entitled to receive EMA in certain circumstances.) In 2005/06 EMA roll-out continued and EMA was available to all 16 and 17-year-olds nationally. In 2006/07 EMA is available to all 16, 17 and 18-year-olds nationally. In calculating the percentage of young people receiving EMA only take-up and population figures for age groups where EMA was available nationally have been used.
	The following table shows the percentage of young people receiving EMA in Cumbria Local Authority area, the North West and England during each academic year since national roll-out.
	
		
			  Percentage of population receiving EMA in each academic year 
			   2004/05( 1')  2005/06( 2)  2006/07( 3, 4) 
			 Cumbria 32 27 23 
			 North West 46 42 36 
			 England 33 30 25 
			 (1)16-year-olds only (2 )16 and 17-year-olds. (3 )16, 17 and 18-year-olds. (4) To end January. 
		
	
	I hope this information is useful and addresses your question.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of young people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception;
	(2)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received (i) 30, (ii) 20 and (iii) 10 a week in education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception.

Phil Hope: The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a devolved matter. In England, this is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate EMA for the DFES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 12 March 2007:
	I am writing in response to your parliamentary question 122059 and 122060 that asked:
	What percentage of young people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception and;
	How many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received (i) 30, (ii) 20 and (iii) 10 a week in education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme's inception.
	EMA was piloted in 56 areas before launching the national scheme and South Tyneside local authority was a pilot area. The following data covers the start of the national roll out of EMA in the academic year 2004/05 and onwards.
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received education maintenance allowance (EMA) is available at local authority level, but not at constituency level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	The following tables show EMA take-up data split by payment band for South Tyneside local authority area, the North East and England during each academic year since national roll out.
	
		
			  Take-up of EMA in each academic year 
			  2004-05 
			   Band  
			   30  20  10  Total 
			 South Tyneside 1,353 126 157 1,636 
			 North East 15,698 1,753 1,958 19,409 
			 England 242,507 27,429 27,632 297,568 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Band  
			   30  20  10  Total 
			 South Tyneside 1,538 117 116 1,771 
			 North East 21,609 2,282 1,864 25,755 
			 England 359,792 39,892 30,643 430,327 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07 to end January 
			   Band  
			   30  20  10  Total 
			 South Tyneside 1,681 169 136 1,986 
			 North East 24,559 2,867 2,593 30,019 
			 England 406,319 49,863 43,993 500,175 
		
	
	In the first year of national roll out EMA was available to all 16-years-olds across England and to 17 and 18-years-olds in former pilot areas (young people who are 19 are entitled to receive EMA in certain circumstances). In 2005-06 EMA roll out continued and EMA was available to all 16 and 17-year-olds nationally. In 2006/07 EMA is available to all 16, 17 and 18-year-olds nationally. In calculating the percentage of young people receiving EMA only take up and population figures for age groups where EMA was available nationally have been used.
	
		
			  Percentage of population receiving EMA in each academic year 
			   2004/05 (16-year-olds only)  2005/06 (16 and 17-year-olds)  2006/07 to end January (16, 17 and 18-year-olds) 
			 South Tyneside 39 36 32 
			 North East 38 35 29 
			 England 33 30 25

Education Maintenance Allowance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students claimed the education maintenance allowance in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate EMA for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 12 March 2007:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 122789 that asked; How many students claimed the Education Maintenance Allowance in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster in each of the last three years?
	The following table shows Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) take-up for Barnsley and Doncaster Local Authority areas during each academic year since the introduction of the allowance. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	
		
			  Take-up of EMA in each academic year 
			   2004/05  2005/06 ( 1) 2006/07 
			 Barnsley 1,821 2,071 2,463 
			 Doncaster 2,707 2,912 3,287 
			 (1) To end February 
		
	
	I hope this information is useful and addresses your question.

Education: Guardian Newspapers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much was spent by his Department on the 14 to 19 reforms supplement it sponsored in  The Guardian newspaper on 6 March;
	(2)  which civil servants within his Department contributed to the 14 to 19 reforms supplement in  The Guardian newspaper on 6 March.

Jim Knight: The Department spent 42,000 on  The Guardian Supplement covering the 14-19 reform programme. The 14-19 reforms will impact on a range of stakeholders and through the supplement we were able to inform head teachers, teachers and lecturers in schools and colleges, HE professionals, and the wider public about the reforms. We believe that this is good value for money as we were able to reach a large section of our target audience. As the 14-19 programme will require schools and colleges to collaborate in the future, and teaching of the diplomas will start from September 2008 we increasingly need to inform our target audiences about the reforms and the impact that they will have on them. We will therefore continue to promote the 14-19 reform programme across a range of news media over the next few months.
	Although civil servants within the 14-19 reform group briefed  The Guardian on the 14-19 reforms, the content of the supplement was written by Guardian journalists. As with most supplements of this nature officials from within the Department and across our partners were given the opportunity to correct factual errors within the final document. Final editorial control for the article was retained by  The Guardian.

English Language

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which individuals are entitled to free tuition on Entry 1 and Entry 2 level English for Speakers of Other Languages Courses.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council sets out the eligibility criteria for fee remission in the funding guidance for further education, updated each year.
	Currently all English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision is fully funded, with free tuition for all learners. From August 2007/08 it is proposed that in order to receive fee remission an ESOL learner must fall into standard fee remission categories, for example, that they are in receipt of an income based benefit such as housing benefit.
	The fee remission categories are set out in paragraph 127 of the Funding guidance for further education in 2006/07 and include:
	unemployed people in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance;
	those in receipt of income-based benefits, formerly known as means-tested benefits, the main income-based benefits are council tax benefit, housing benefit, income support and jobseeker's allowance (income-based);
	those in receipt of working tax credit with a household income of less than 15,050;
	those in receipt of pension credits-guarantee credit;
	the unwaged dependants (as defined by Jobcentre Plus) of those listed above.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has considered the impact of the proposed changes to ESOL funding following the race equality impact assessment (REIA) and he is minded to consider a range of new measures to reprioritise funding towards the most vulnerable. These are:
	Reinstating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are in the UK legally and whose claims are not resolved within six months;
	Reinstating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are unable to return or be returned to their country of origin for circumstances beyond their control and who are eligible for section 4 support;
	Prioritising funding at local level through the Learning and Skills Council's Learner Hardship Support Fund towards support for spouses and individuals who may not have access to their household benefit documentation or their own funds; and
	Agreeing with the Learning and Skills Council an approach to evidencing low pay for fee remission purposes which enables flexible use of a raft of evidence, including wider benefits and other evidence.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has asked officials to work with the Learning and Skills Council and other partners to finalise the detail urgently.

English Language: Adult Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms are available to applicants for English for Speakers of other Languages classes to appeal against assessments that they should pay a proportion of course costs.

Phil Hope: There is no formal appeals procedure. Where applicants are not eligible for the fee remission for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses, the charging of fees is at the discretion of individual institutions.
	From 2007/08 to receive fee remission for any course a learner must prove that they fall into a fee remission category, for example, that they are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or an income-based benefit.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has considered the impact of the proposed changes to ESOL funding following the Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) and he is minded to consider a range of new measures to reprioritise funding towards the most vulnerable. These are:
	Re-instating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are in the UK legally and whose claims are not resolved within six months;
	Re-instating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are unable to return or be returned to their country of origin for circumstances beyond their control and who are eligible for section 4 support;
	Prioritising funding at local level through the Learning and Skills Council's Learner Hardship Support Fund towards support for spouses and individuals who may not have access to their household benefit documentation or their own funds; and
	Agreeing with the Learning and Skills Council an approach to evidencing low pay for fee remission purposes which enables flexible use of a raft of evidence, including wider benefits and other evidence.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has asked officials to work with the Learning and Skills Council and other partners to finalise the detail urgently.

English Language: Equal Opportunities

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will conduct a race equality impact assessment on the changes to English speakers of other languages provision which will be in place from September 2007.

Phil Hope: A race equality impact assessment regarding the changes to English for speakers of other languages is now complete and will be published shortly.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has considered the impact of the proposed changes to ESOL funding following the race equality impact assessment (REIA) and he is minded to consider a range of new measures to reprioritise funding towards the most vulnerable. These are:
	Re-instating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are in the UK legally and whose claims are not resolved within six months;
	Re-instating eligibility for those asylum seekers who are unable to return or be returned to their country of origin for circumstances beyond their control and who are eligible for Section 4 support;
	Prioritising funding at local level through the Learning and Skills Council's Learner Hardship Support Fund towards support for spouses and individuals who may not have access to their household benefit documentation or their own funds; and
	Agreeing with the Learning and Skills Council an approach to evidencing low pay for fee remission purposes which enables flexible use of a raft of evidence, including wider benefits and other evidence.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has asked officials to work with the Learning and Skills Council and other partners to finalise the detail urgently.

Funding

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much funding per pupil was given to state-funded secondary schools in  (a) the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames and  (b) the London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much funding per pupil was received by state-funded secondary schools in  (a) the London Borough of Hammersmith and  (b) the London Borough of Wandsworth in the last year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how much funding per pupil was received on average by state-funded secondary schools  (a) in London and  (b) in each London borough in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table details the funding per pupil aged 11 to 15 for all London local authorities in 2005-06, the latest year for which a funding figure for secondary schools is available.
	
		
			  LEA  Funding per pupil aged 11 to 15 () 
			 London 5,780 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,320 
			 Barnet 5,190 
			 Bexley 4,680 
			 Brent 6,110 
			 Bromley 4,790 
			 Camden 6,860 
			 Croydon 5,260 
			 Ealing 5,900 
			 Enfield 5,230 
			 Greenwich 6,520 
			 Hackney 7,870 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 6,870 
			 Haringey 6,440 
			 Harrow 5,170 
			 Havering 4,740 
			 Hillingdon 5,100 
			 Hounslow 5,510 
			 Islington 7,290 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 7,240 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,850 
			 Lambeth 7,650 
			 Lewisham 7,040 
			 Merton 5,300 
			 Newham 6,020 
			 Redbridge 4,840 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,830 
			 Southwark 7,330 
			 Sutton 4,750 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,430 
			 Waltham Forest 5,730 
			 Wandsworth 6,460 
			 Westminster 6,520 
			  Notes:  1. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements, including the pensions transfer to EFS.  2. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 11 to 15 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.  3. The pupil numbers used to convert  million figures to  per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations.  4. Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal.  5. Figures are in cash and rounded to the nearest 10.

Further Education

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 16-year-olds went on to  (a) A levels,  (b) further education,  (c) other vocational training and  (d) higher education in each local authority in the last period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The Department publish annual statistics on the participation in education and training by 16 and 17-year-olds in each local area in England. The latest publication can be viewed here: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000645/index.shtml. It refers to those of academic age 16 resident in the local authority at the end of 2004. This publication is the source of the figures used to answer this question.
	 (a) There is no information on the study aim of 16-year-olds at the local level. The column (a) in the attached table gives the proportion of 16-year-olds in each local authority who were in full-time education at school (maintained or independent). Not all of these will have been studying A levels, some will have been studying other vocational qualifications or qualifications below A level.
	 (b) Column (b) in the attached table gives the proportion of 16-year-olds in each local authority studying in full-time education in a further education college including sixth form colleges.
	 (c) Column (c) in the attached table gives the proportion of 16-year-olds in each local authority participating in government supported work-based learning. There is no information at a local level of those participating in other non-government funded vocational training.
	 (d) There are very few 16-year-olds in higher education (less than 1 per cent. of the population). They are not available on a consistent basis at a local level as information is only available on the location of the institute rather than where the young person resides. Information on 16-year-olds in higher education at a local level is therefore not available.
	To complete the table there is a final column of other 16-year-olds participating in part-time education to give a total participating in education and work-based learning.

GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of 15-year-olds attending  (a) independent schools and  (b) maintained schools achieved five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics in each year since 1997;
	(2)  when he will reply to Question 122062, on GCSEs, tabled on 16 February 2007 by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

Jim Knight: The information requested is given in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Percentage achieving 5 A*-C including English and mathematics GCSE 
			   Maintained  Independent 
			 1997 34.3 81.6 
			 1998 35.6 81.5 
			 1999 37.4 82.5 
			 2000 38.7 83.2 
			 2001 37.8 77.6 
			 2002 39.2 78.7 
			 2003 39.1 77.9 
			 2004 39.9 76.7 
			 2005 42.0 73.9 
			 2006 43.4 69.3

Higher Education Student Numbers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 2071-72W, on higher education student numbers, what percentage of applicants from  (a) England and  (b) the North East region went on to become undergraduate students at English universities in each of the last seven years.

Bill Rammell: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and is given in the table. The majority of students applying for full-time undergraduate courses apply to UCAS, but a small number apply directly to institutions.
	
		
			  Applicants, acceptances and acceptance rates through UCAS to full-time higher education courses from England and the North East region, UK higher education institutions, year of entry 2000 to 2006 
			   English domiciles  Of which: from the North East 
			  Year of entry  Applicants  Acceptances  Acceptance rate (Percentage)  Applicants  Acceptances  Acceptance rate (Percentage) 
			 2000 321,343 255,734 79.6 14,561 11,993 82.4 
			 2001 330,856 270,699 81.8 15,101 12,650 83.8 
			 2002 331,602 275,583 83.1 15,146 12,661 83.6 
			 2003 337,593 276,930 82.0 15,841 12,984 82.0 
			 2004 339,967 277,079 81.5 15,571 12,652 81.3 
			 2005 368,801 301,798 81.8 16,360 13,500 82.5 
			 2006 358,067 289,229 80.8 16,127 13,229 82.0 
			  Source: UCAS annual datasets.

Higher Education: Research

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many permanent academic research posts were funded in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07; and what percentage this number was of all academic research posts funded in each year.

Bill Rammell: The information is shown in the following tables. Data for academic years 1997/98 to 2002/03 and 2003/04 to 2005/06, the latest year available, are shown separately to take account of the Higher Education Statistics Agency's revision of its staff data collection methodology in 2003-04.
	
		
			  Table 1: Academic staff( 1)  employed in research-only activities at English higher education institutions, 1997/8 to 2002/03 
			  Academic year  Permanent research-only posts  Total research-only posts  Permanent posts as a percentage of all research-only posts 
			 1997/98 1,830 30,810 5.9 
			 1998/99 2,035 31,325 6.5 
			 1999/2000 1,905 33,470 5.7 
			 2000/01 2,055 35,155 5.8 
			 2001/02 2,020 36,255 5.6 
			 2002/03 2,365 36,945 6.4 
			 (1) A count of active contracts for academic staff with 25 percent.+ full time equivalent only.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Academic staff( 1)  employed in research-only activities in English higher education institutions, 2003/04 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Open ended/permanent research-only posts  Total  Permanent posts as a percentage of all research-only posts 
			 2003/04 2,465 29,375 8.4 
			 2004/05 3,210 29,410 10.9 
			 2005/06 4,715 30,610 15.4 
			 (1) A count of staff with one or more active contracts.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

History: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy considerations affected the decision to include the study of the Second World War and Nazi holocaust in the key stage three History curriculum.

Jim Knight: The two world wars and the Holocaust have been compulsory elements of the Key Stage 3 history curriculum since 1995. Pupils should study the causes and consequences of various conflicts including the two world wars and the Holocaust and develop an understanding of the changing nature of conflict over time and attempts to resolve conflict.

History: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy considerations affected the decision to include the study of the slave trade in the key stage three History curriculum.

Jim Knight: Studying the nature and effects of the slave trade and its abolition will help pupils to understand the make up of the UK today and put immigration, the Commonwealth and the legacy of the empire into a clear historical context. The slave trade is already a suggested option for history teachers under the current curriculum.

Nurseries: Greater London

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nursery places for three and four-year-olds there were in  (a) Eltham,  (b) the London borough of Greenwich and  (c) London in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Eltham parliamentary constituency  Greenwich local authority area  London 
			  Year  Three and four-year-old population  Number of part time funded places filled by three and four-year-olds( 1,2)  Three and four-year-old population  Number of part time funded places filled by three and four-year-olds( 1,2)  Three and four-year-old population  Number of part time funded places filled by three and four-year-olds( 1,2) 
			 1997 n/a n/a 6,400 5,000 194,900 125,700 
			 2006 n/a 1,800 6,100 5,900 185,700 166,800 
			 n/a = not available (1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate. 
		
	
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 32/2006 'Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2006 (final)' in August, which is available on my Department's website at:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Nurseries: Teaching Methods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications for funding for nurseries of the implementation of phonics under the Children Act 2006.

Beverley Hughes: The Government invest some 3 billion each year in delivery of the free early education entitlement to secure twelve-and-a-half hours free provision for 38 weeks a year for 3 and 4-year-olds.
	Nurseries receiving this funding deliver the Foundation Stage and therefore will already be implementing the preparatory work which paves the way for early reading. This work will continue when the Early Years Foundation Stage supersedes the Foundation Stage in September 2008. The Government are investing some 2 million through the Primary National Strategy to support the teaching of phonics in primary schools and early years settings.

Pre-School Education: Standards

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in nursery schools in Lancashire failed to meet expected standards in literacy and mathematical calculation in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the form requested. Children's development at age five is measured by the Foundation Stage Profile which replaced statutory baseline assessment on entry to primary school. This involves a continuous observational assessment during the academic year in which a child reaches the age of five. There are no pass or fail marks but, for the purposes of the national PSA target on improving young children's outcomes, a 'good level of development' at the Foundation Stage is defined as achieving a score of at least six points on a Foundation Stage Profile Scale. A child achieving a good level of development can be deemed to be 'working securely' within the Early Learning Goals.
	The following table shows the percentage of young children in the Lancashire local authority area and the North West Government Office region who achieve a score of six points or more in the assessment scales relating to the Communication, Language and Literacy and Mathematical Development areas of learning. Local authorities only supply full child data in an aggregate form and it is not possible to distinguish between nursery schools and other types of provider from this dataset. Sub-national figures are only available from 2005.
	
		
			  Percentage of children achieving six points or more( 1,2)  in the communication, language and literacy and mathematical development areas of learning on the foundation stage profile in Lancashire local authority area2005-06 
			   2005  2006 
			   Lancashire  North West  England  Lancashire  North West  England 
			  Communication, language and literacy   
			 Language for communication and thinking 85 83 81 79 79 78 
			 Linking sounds and letters 72 66 63 65 63 61 
			 Reading 79 75 72 71 70 68 
			 Writing 72 65 61 61 59 57 
			
			  Mathematical development   
			 Numbers as labels for counting 88 88 87 87 87 87 
			 Calculating 80 75 73 72 71 69 
			 Shape, space and measures 89 86 84 83 82 80 
			 (1) Children who achieve six points or more within a scale are deemed to be 'working securely' within the Early Learning Goals. (2) Includes children in maintained schools and private, voluntary and independent providers. 
		
	
	Care should be exercised in comparing the results year on year. Assessment against the Foundation Stage Profile is not yet universally well established and ongoing improvements in assessment and moderation have contributed to a general downward shift in the scores, including the percentage of children working securely within the Early Learning Goals. The downward shift is apparent across most authorities but to varying degrees. While the downward shift in the figures between 2005 and 2006 reflects these improvements to moderation and assessment, the precise extent of the impact is uncertain. While many local authorities may now have settled in respect of assessment, it is possible that there will be further impact in some authorities for some time although the effects on the results are likely to reduce over time as the survey becomes more embedded.
	The latest national figures on the Foundation Stage Profile for 2006 were published in a Statistical First Release 'Foundation Stage Profile 2006 (03/2007)' in January. A copy of the report and additional tables that show local authority achievement are available from the Department's website at:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics

Pupils: Intimidation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were excluded  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently for bullying in schools in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Jim Knight: Information on the reasons for pupil exclusions is available from 2003/04 and has been provided in the table as follows.
	Information relating to exclusions during the 2005/06 school year is expected to be available in June 2007.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools ( 1, 2) : Number and percentage of permanent and fixed period exclusions for bullying 2003/04 to 2004/05, England 
			   Number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of all permanent exclusions( 3)  Number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of all fixed period exclusions( 3) 
			 2003/04 150 1.5 6,750 2.0 
			 2004/05 130 1.4 7,680 2.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed (2) Includes maintained special schools. Excludes non-maintained special schools (3) The number of exclusions for bullying expressed as a percentage of the total number of exclusions. (4) The number of exclusions for bullying has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the Schools Census data checking exercise.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  Termly Exclusions Survey

Schools: Inspections

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with Ofsted on the implementation of changes to inspections following the provision of the foundation stage curriculum.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, meets with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector on a regular basis and I meet with her termly. Inspection is one of the topics frequently discussed and we are working closely with Ofsted on changes to the current arrangements to reflect the introduction and implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Ofsted is currently undertaking a series of pilot inspections based on a common approach to inspection that will be applicable across all early years settings from September 2008. The second phase of the pilots is due to commence in April.

Schools: Sports

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from community groups on the hiring of sports facilities at private finance initiative schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State receives a large number of representations from many groups. Our correspondence records do not show any representations as describedto undertake further searches would incur disproportionate cost.

Special Educational Needs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much special educational needs (SEN) funding was provided to students in  (a) further education and  (b) higher education in each year between 1997 and 2006; and if he will make a statement on his Department's submission for future levels of SEN funding in further and higher education as part of the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 14 March 2007
	Information on the funding allocated to support learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities who studied in the further education sector is in the following table.
	
		
			  Further Education  Number of learners supported  Funding provided ( billion) 
			 2003/04 579,000 1.3 
			 2004/05 641,000 1.5 
			 Source: LSC 
		
	
	Information for 2005/06 will be published in July 2007 and I will write to the hon. Gentleman once this is available. Comparable information is not available before 2003/04 as it was not collected in the same way under previous funding arrangements.
	The information includes all LSC funding to support post-16 learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities studying in England. This includes learners attending further education colleges, school sixth forms and work based learning providers.
	For higher education the details are as follows:
	
		
			  Higher Education  Mainstream disability funding ( million)  Disabled student's allowance ( million)  Number of students in receipt of disabled student's allowance 
			 2000/01 7.0 39.2 14,500 
			 2001/02 8.7 39.3 18,600 
			 2002/03 9.8 50.4 24,600 
			 2003/04 10.3 (1) (1) 
			 2004/05 10.4 70.7 32,400 
			 2005/06 12.3 78.0 35,400 
			 (1) A change in reporting arrangements for 2003/04 means aggregated figures are not available for this year  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	The information includes full-time, part-time, and postgraduate students studying in England.
	As the Department has not yet received its comprehensive spending review (CSR) settlement, we are not in a position to announce the funding levels for specific programmes during the next CSR period. However, I can confirm that the costs of supporting learners with learning difficulties and disabilities have been fully integrated into our considerations for this.

Alcoholic Drinks: Death

David Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths in which alcohol was the primary cause there were in  (a) Suffolk,  (b) Norfolk and  (c) Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths in which alcohol was the primary cause there were in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997. (127621)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire, from 1997 to 2005 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause of death( 1) , Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire( 2) , 1997 to 2005( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   Suffolk  Norfolk  Cambridgeshire 
			 1997 37 50 32 
			 1998 53 64 28 
			 1999 43 60 40 
			 2000 50 69 36 
			 2001 51 67 38 
			 2002 48 70 51 
			 2003 60 87 37 
			 2004 65 70 45 
			 2005 56 81 48 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for 2001 onwards. The specific causes of death categorised as alcohol-related, and their corresponding ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, are shown in the boxes below. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Based on county boundaries as of 2007. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1. Alcohol-related causes of deathInternational Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) 
			  Cause of death  ICD-9 code(s) 
			 Alcoholic psychoses 291 
			 Alcohol dependence syndrome 303 
			 Non-dependent abuse of alcohol 305 
			 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 425.5 
			 Alcoholic fatty liver 571 
			 Acute alcoholic hepatitis 571.1 
			 Alcoholic cirrhosis of liver 571.2 
			 Alcoholic liver damage, unspecified 571.3 
			 Chronic hepatitis 571.4 
			 Cirrhosis of liver without mention of alcohol 571.5 
			 Other chronic non-alcoholic liver disease 571.8 
			 Unspecified chronic liver disease without mention of alcohol 571.9 
			 Accidental poisoning by alcohol E860 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 2. Alcohol-related causes of deathInternational Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) 
			  Cause of death  ICD-10 code(s) 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol F10 
			 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol G31.2 
			 Alcoholic polyneuropathy G62.1 
			 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 142.6 
			 Alcoholic gastritis K29.2 
			 Alcoholic liver disease K70 
			 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K73 
			 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excl. Biliary cirrhosis) (1)K74 
			 Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis K86.0 
			 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X45 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65 
			 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent Y15 
			 (1) Excluding K74.3 to K74.5

Child Trust Fund

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to increase the take-up of  (a) child benefit and  (b) child trust funds by use of the internet.

Edward Balls: There is a high take-up of child benefit and I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Paymaster General, in her reply to the question from the right hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers) on 7 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1296W. The HMRC website already enables people to claim child benefit on-line, but to safeguard against fraud the claim cannot be wholly electronic. Parents must send the birth certificates for each child to the Child Benefit Office in order to validate their claim. Child Trust Fund vouchers are sent automatically to parents once child benefit has been awarded for a qualifying child.
	The Child Trust Fund website www.childtrustfund,gov.uk contains useful information to encourage parents to use their Child Trust Fund voucher, including a step-by-step guide on how to open an account. This site also includes the functionality to ask for a replacement voucher over the internet if a parent has mislaid the original. In addition we provide Child Trust Fund advertising on key parenting websites and on search engines to direct people to the Child Trust Fund website and many Child Trust Fund providers allow online applications for Child Trust Fund accounts.

Climate Change Levy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change in value of the Climate Change Levy has been since it was first announced in 1999; and if he will restore the value to the 1999 level.

John Healey: The climate change levy (CCL) was introduced in April 2001 and yielded 555 million in 2001-02. In 2005-06 CCL yielded 744 million. As announced in Budget 2006, the levy will increase in line with inflation on 1 April 2007. The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

Economic Growth

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate  (a) the level of non-oil related GDP growth and  (b) contribution to non-oil related GDP growth of (i) labour productivity growth, (ii) employment rate growth, (iii) average hours worked growth and (iv) working-age population growth in real terms in each year since 1977.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding a request for an estimate of (a) the level of non-oil related GDP growth and (b) the contribution to non-oil related GDP growth of (i) labour productivity growth, (ii) employment rate growth, (iii) average hours worked growth and (iv) working-age population growth in real terms in each year since 1977. (127342)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not calculate an estimate of non-oil related GDP but I have provided our published estimate of gross value added excluding oil and gas (table A). The difference between GDP and gross value added is that GDP includes the effects of taxes and subsidies on products whereas gross value added does not. However, in terms of growth rates the difference is minimal.
	ONS does produce estimates of labour productivity, the employment rate, average hours worked and the working-age population. However, these are not used directly in the calculation of GDP and gross value added.
	
		
			  Table A: UK gross value added excluding oil and gas 
			million  Annual growth (%) 
			 1977 550,845  
			 1978 560,662 1.8 
			 1979 567,130 1.2 
			 1980 554,630 -2.2 
			 1981 544,608 -1.8 
			 1982 552,717 1.5 
			 1983 569,143 3.0 
			 1984 579,780 1.9 
			 1985 601,777 3.8 
			 1986 625,680 4.0 
			 1987 653,641 4.5 
			 1988 688,239 5.3 
			 1989 705,930 2.6 
			 1990 713,425 1.1 
			 1991 705,901 -1.1 
			 1992 707,761 0.3 
			 1993 722,761 2.1 
			 1994 749,358 3.7 
			 1995 768,340 2.5 
			 1996 788,326 2.6 
			 1997 812,717 3.1 
			 1998 841,328 3.5 
			 1999 866,997 3.1 
			 2000 901,169 3.9 
			 2001 922,188 2.3 
			 2002 939,114 1.8 
			 2003 966,014 2.9 
			 2004 999,966 3.5 
			 2005 1,021,976 2.2 
			 2006 1,051,503 2.9 
			 (1 )These figures are based on data published on 23rd February 2007

Economic Situation: Cumbria

David Maclean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross value added rate was of the Cumbrian economy in each year since 1990.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell dated 19 March 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about Gross Value Added (GVA) of the Cumbrian economy in each year since 1990. (127181)
	Regional GVA data are currently published in The Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) regions and Cumbria is a NUTS2 region. Table A has the latest available data from 1995 to 2004.
	Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data prior to 1995 were published biennially at the county level. These data were last published in 1998. Table B has the data for Cumbria from 1991 and 1993.
	Both data-sets are at current prices, therefore the effects of inflation are not taken into account. The data sets in Table A and Table B were calculated using different methodologies and cannot be used together to obtain a consistent time series.
	
		
			  Table A 
			   Gross value added in Cumbria ( million) 
			 1995 4,862 
			 1996 5,039 
			 1997 5,157 
			 1998 5,250 
			 1999 5,264 
			 2000 5,268 
			 2001 5,429 
			 2002 5,675 
			 2003 6,047 
			 2004 6,440 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B 
			   Gross domestic product in Cumbria ( million) 
			 1991 4,500 
			 1993 4,746

Personal Income

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) mean and  (b) median age is of the household reference person in each household income decile.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 March 2007:
	 As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) mean and (b) median age is of the household reference person in each household income decile. (127327).
	The ONS analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income' provides information about the income distribution and the characteristics of households in different parts of the income distribution. The latest analysis for 2004/05 was published on the National Statistics website on 12th May 2006 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits, while that for 2005/06 will be published on 17 May 2007. This annual analysis is based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK. Tables 15 and 15A provide information on household characteristics by income decile group.
	The table below, based on the same underlying data as that appearing in Tables 15 and 15A, shows the mean and median age of the household reference person by household income decile.
	The household reference person is the person in the household who owns the accommodation or is responsible for paying rent. If this ownership or responsibility for paying rent is held jointly, then the household reference person is the person with the highest income. A fuller definition is provided in the background notes.
	The income decile groups are determined by ranking households according to their equivalised disposable income. The table below also shows the equivalised income boundary points which separate households into decile groups.
	Equivalised incomes are standardised to take into account different sizes and compositions of households. The standard household is deemed to be a two adult household with no children, and so these equivalised incomes can be interpreted as indicating a standard of living that would be achieved by a standard household with that income.
	The figures shown in the table below are based on a sample survey and are not necessarily accurate to the nearest single year of age, but nevertheless provide a good indication of how the age of the household reference person changes across the income distribution.
	
		
			  Mean and median age of household reference person by decile groups of ALL households, 2004-05 
			   Decile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income  
			   Bottom  2( nd)  3( rd)  4( th)  5( th)  6( th)  7( th)  8( th)  9( th)  Top  All households 
			 Decile boundary points (equivalised)   9,892  12,530  14,691  16,948  19,309  22,287  25,811  30,832  40,385  
			 Number of households in the population (000s) 2,440 2,446 2,440 2,445 2,443 2,444 2,443 2,440 2,447 2,444 24,431 
			 Mean age of household reference person 55 55 58 56 53 51 50 48 45 46 52 
			 Median age of household reference person 57 57 60 57 51 50 49 48 45 45 52 
			  Source:   ONS, Effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 2004-05.

Skin Cancer

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) diagnosis and  (b) mortality rate was for (i) melanoma skin cancer and (ii) non-melanoma skin cancer in (A) Taunton constituency and (B) the UK in each year since 1996, broken down by age group.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) diagnosis and (b) mortality rate was for (i) melanoma skin cancer and (ii) non-melanoma skin cancer in (A) Taunton constituency and (B) the UK in each year since 1996, broken down by age group.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the years 2005 (Wales), 2004 (England, Northern Ireland) and 2003 (Scotland). The latest available figures for deaths are for the year 2005.
	For the UK, age-specific incidence and mortality rates of respectively, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, from 1996, are given in Tables 1 and 3 below.
	For Taunton Deane LA, numbers of newly registered cases of, and deaths from, respectively, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, from 1996, are given in Tables 2 and 4 below. Only a broad breakdown by age (0-59, 60+) is possible because of the small number of cases in some years.
	Numbers for both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, for Taunton Deane LA, particularly those for deaths, are too small to produce reliable age-specific rates even on the broad age ranges provided. Numbers for the UK are provided in Tables 5 and 6.
	
		
			  Table 1: Age-specific rates( 1)  of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, melanoma skin cancer( 2)  for the UK, 1996 to 2005 
			  UK  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 65 67 70 69 76 84 87 85   
			  60+ 232 249 247 261 293 301 324 331   
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 12 12 12 12 13 12 12 13 12 13 
			  60+ 79 81 90 89 87 90 87 95 95 96 
			 (1) Rate per million population. (2) Melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 172 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C43 for years 2001 to 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, melanoma skin cancer( 1)  for Taunton Deane LA, 1996 to 2005 
			  Taunton Deane LA( 2)  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 4 7 8 3 9 18 6 15 14  
			  60+ 5 10 6 11 11 15 11 17 18  
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 4 1 
			  60+ 3 3 2 4 3 3 3 4 2 1 
			 (1) Melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 172 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C43 for years 2001 to 2005. (2) Using local authority ward boundaries as of 2007 for all years shown.  Sources: 1. Office for National Statistics 2. Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. 3. Scottish Cancer Registry ISD 4. Northern Ireland Cancer Registry. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Age-specific rates( 1)  of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, non-melanoma skin cancer( 2)  for the UK, 1996 to 2005 
			  UK  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 215 242 262 269 276 286 292 297   
			  60+ 3,203 3,550 3,873 3,944 4,136 4188 4,255 4,315   
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			  60+ 32 33 35 32 29 36 38 39 40 38 
			 (1) Rate per million population. (2) Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C44 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 173 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C44 for years 2001 to 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, non-melanoma skin cancer( 1)  for Taunton Deane LA, 1996 to 2005 
			  Taunton Deane LA( 2)  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 18 25 44 38 41 42 38 44 46  
			  60+ 88 113 180 163 185 132 159 168 216  
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			  60+ 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 2 4 
			 (1) Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C44 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 173 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C44 for years 2001 to 2005. (2) Using local authority ward boundaries as of 2007 for all years shown.  Sources: 1. Office for National Statistics 2. Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. 3. Scottish Cancer Registry ISD 4. Northern Ireland Cancer Registry. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: Number of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, melanoma skin cancer( 1)  for the UK, 1996 to 2005 
			  UK  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 3,008 3,117 3,237 3,212 3,551 3,959 4,073 4,026 0-59 3,008 
			  60+ 2,785 2,999 2,984 3,168 3,580 3,689 3,993 4,123 60+ 2,785 
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 559 546 549 552 616 554 571 592 583 595 
			  60+ 951 977 1,084 1,083 1,058 1,101 1,075 1,177 1,202 1,225 
			 (1) Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C44 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 173 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C44 for years 2001 to 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 6: Number of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, non- melanoma skin cancer( 1)  for the UK, 1996 to 2005 
			  UK  Age  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Incidence 0-59 9,927 11,181 12,166 12,510 12,878 13,417 13,720 13,986 0-59 9,927 
			  60+ 38,466 42,746 46,886 47,934 50,491 51,332 52,466 53,728 60+ 38,466 
			 
			 Mortality 0-59 60 38 44 43 43 39 41 37 37 31 
			  60+ 388 401 422 389 351 440 474 483 505 480 
			 (1) Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence is defined as code C44 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 173 for years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C44 for years 2001 to 2005.

Smuggling: Firearms

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures of illegal firearms were made by HM Revenue and Customs staff in each year since 1997; and how many individuals were prosecuted as a result of such seizures in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: The answer to the question is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of seizures of illegal firearms  Number of individuals prosecuted 
			 2002-03 n/a 4 
			 2003-04 171 8 
			 2004-05 83 4 
			 2005-06 229 3 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The number of seizures of firearms includes air firearms as defined in the Firearms Act 1968 as amended with the exception of self defence sprays, stun guns and parts of firearms.
	The following information is not available:
	the number of seizures prior to 1 April 2003;
	the number of individuals prosecuted prior to 1 April 2002; and prosecutions undertaken as a result of seizures that were referred to police forces for investigation.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of  (a) pensioners and  (b) taxpayers submitting tax returns do not have (i) capital gains tax liability, (ii) business income, (iii) property income, (iv) partnership income, (v) income from share schemes and (vi) foreign income; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Figures for income tax self assessment returns for the 2004-05 tax year (the latest full year available) are provided in the following table.
	Table: Self assessment tax returns received for the 2004-05 tax year, showing numbers and proportions without those supplementary pages which indicate the receipt of various kinds of income and gains.
	
		
			   (a) All individuals  (b) Individuals in receipt of a state pension 
			   Number  Proportion of total  Number  Proportion of total 
			 All individuals 8,100,000  1,360,000  
			  of which: 
			 (i) without capital gains pages(1) 7,670,000 94.6 1,230,000 90.2 
			 (ii) without self- employment pages (business income)(2) 4,990,000 61.6 1,120,000 82.4 
			 (iii) without land and property pages(3) 6,570,000 81.1 1,090,000 80.2 
			 (iv) without partnership pages 7,040,000 86.9 1,220,000 89.4 
			 (v) without share schemes pages 8,080,000 99.7 1,360,000 100.0 
			 (vi) without foreign pages 7,680,000 94.8 1 ,200,000 88.3 
			 (1) Besides the main capital gains pages, these figures take account of short tax returns submitted with supplementary capital gains pages. (2 )Besides the main self employment pages, these figures take account of short tax returns with the self-employment income section completed. (3 )Besides the main land and property pages, these figures take account of short tax returns submitted with the UK land and property income section completed.  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000. The figures in the table relate to returns received and captured onto HMRC computer systems as at March 2007.

Teenage Pregnancy: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many underage pregnancies were recorded in each London borough in each of the last five years, broken down by ethnic group.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 March 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many underage pregnancies have been recorded in each London borough in each of the last five years, broken down by ethnic group. (127739)
	Figures on underage pregnancies are estimated using the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.
	Information on ethnicity is not collected at birth registration and hence figures on underage pregnancies by ethnicity are not available.
	Number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 in each London Borough for the years 2001-2005 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the
	attached table. Figures for 2005 are provisional.
	
		
			  Number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 years by area of usual residence, London, 2001-2005( 1) 
			  Area of usual residence  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005( 1) 
			 London 1,252 1,229 1,247 1,128 1,060 
			   
			 Camden LB 22 25 23 14 26 
			 Hackney LB and City of London 62 56 62 52 37 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham LB 22 21 25 11 22 
			 Haringey LB 59 59 46 62 39 
			 Islington LB 37 30 33 35 34 
			 Kensington and Chelsea LB 14 13 8 5 9 
			 Lambeth LB 80 95 100 64 67 
			 Lewisham LB 61 70 74 59 64 
			 Newham LB 71 59 45 47 36 
			 Southwark LB 68 77 83 66 57 
			 Tower Hamlets LB 42 34 28 35 25 
			 Wandsworth LB 48 41 39 27 26 
			 Westminster, City of LB 20 17 17 8 12 
			 Barking and Dagenham LB 51 43 44 42 38 
			 Barnet LB 34 27 38 34 30 
			 Bexley LB 34 36 27 36 32 
			 Brent LB 52 50 54 49 53 
			 Bromley LB 33 38 39 36 36 
			 Croydon LB 72 68 57 63 66 
			 Baling LB 31 32 29 32 30 
			 Enfield LB 43 51 58 46 35 
			 Greenwich LB 51 45 45 49 48 
			 Harrow LB 24 21 18 25 16 
			 Havering LB 23 18 29 25 35 
			 Hillingdon LB 37 39 48 50 39 
			 Hounslow LB 38 25 34 36 26 
			 Kingston upon Thames LB 9 8 9 9 12 
			 Merton LB 20 22 27 24 24 
			 Redbridge LB 26 28 25 25 21 
			 Richmond upon Thames LB 10 9 8 12 11 
			 Sutton LB 17 23 25 20 21 
			 Waltham Forest LB 41 49 50 30 33 
			 (1) Figures for 2005 are provisional.  Note: To preserve confidentiality, counts for City of London have been combined with those for Hackney LB.

Accident and Emergency Departments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions there were to accident and emergency departments in 2006, broken down by  (a) type and  (b) strategic health authority (SHA); and what proportion of the resident population of each SHA the latter figure represents.

Andy Burnham: Information on the number of emergency admissions via accident and emergency (AE) departments for January to December 2006, broken down by AE type and strategic health authority, is show in the following table.
	Information on the number of attendances at AE departments is a separate collection.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority (SHA) name  Admissions via type 1 (major) A  E  Admissions via type 2 (single specialty) A  E departments  Admissions via type 3 (minor injury and illness services) A  E departments  Total admissions via A  E  Population( 1)  Admissions as percentage of population 
			 England 2,947,677 37,062 25,675 3,073,151 50,431,65 4 6.1 
			 North East 149,968 127 3,714 157,650 2,558,308 6.2 
			 North West 525,953 5,063 2,374 540,827 6,846,249 7.9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 305,719 0 1,475 308,669 5,063,944 6.1 
			 East Midlands 187,863 4,140 1,629 199,401 4,306,335 4.6 
			 West Midlands 289,334 5,265 48 299,960 5,365,438 5.6 
			 East of England 270,579 3,304 1,932 281,051 5,541,636 5.1 
			 London 551,730 3,802 55 559,444 7,517,726 7.4 
			 South East Coast 225,299 14,144 11,955 277,497 4,213,904 6.6 
			 South Central 170,196 755 1,575 174,856 3,950,320 4.4 
			 South West 271,036 462 918 273,796 5,067,794 5.4 
			 (1) Population data for mid-year 2006 are not yet available. Population data used are therefore 2003-based resident population projections for mid-year 2005 (based on 2001 census).  Note: Data are for period January to December 2006 (quarter 4 2005-06 plus quarter 1 to quarter 3 2006-07).  Source: Department of Health QMAE dataset and Office for National Statistics.

Bedford Primary Care Trust: Health Visitors

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors are employed by Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT); and how many were employed by  (a) Bedford PCT and  (b) Heartlands PCT in (i) 2005, (ii 2004 and (iii) 2003.

Rosie Winterton: Information as to the number of health visitors employed by the newly formed Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) is not yet available. However, the following table shows the number of qualified health visiting staff in the old Bedford PCT and the old Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT as at 30 September for each year specified.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 Total specified organisations 93 97 96 
			 Bedford PCT 37 42 41 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT 56 55 55 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

Caesarean Sections

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) emergency and  (b) planned caesarean births there were in each year since 1995.

Ivan Lewis: The last year for which this information is available is 2004-05. Figures are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Elective  Emergency 
			 1995-96 40,889 56,297 
			 1996-97 43,399 57,667 
			 1997-98 46,215 60,840 
			 1998-99 46,200 64,103 
			 1999-2000 48,616 67,836 
			 2000-01 48,365 69,800 
			 2001-02 50,378 68,795 
			 2002-03 50,964 69,596 
			 2003-04 55,286 75,443 
			 2004-05 54,905 79,436 
			  Source:  NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2004-05 (Table 3).

Eastbourne Hospital

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency admissions were received at Eastbourne District General hospital in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: Information is not collected at the level of individual hospitals. Available information on the number of admissions via accident and emergency (AE) departments at East Sussex Hospitals National Health Service Trust is shown in the table. Information on the number of attendances at AE is a separate collection.
	
		
			   Admissions via AE 
			 2002-03 17,461 
			 2003-04(1) 17,085 
			 2004-05 17,335 
			 2005-06 17,700 
			 2006-07(2) 12,999 
			 (1) Admissions via all AE types were first collected in Q1 2003-04. Data after this date are for all AE types, prior to this the figures are for admissions via major (type 1) AE only. (2) 2006-07 data are for Q1, Q2 and Q3 only.  Source: Department of Health, QMAE dataset

Eating Disorders

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people between the ages of  (a) 10 to 16,  (b) 17 to 23 and  (c) 24 to 30 years were diagnosed with eating disorders in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not available in the requested format. Information is available from 2002-03 onwards about the number of finished consultant episodes following a primary diagnosis of an eating disorder, by gender, and for the age ranges 0 to 14 years, 15 to 59 years, 60 to 74 years and over 75 years and is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of finished consultant episodes for patients with a primary diagnosis of an eating disorder, by year and gender, for the national health service in England 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Year/age range  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 0 to 14 44 234 34 234 47 242 59 269 
			 15 to 59 95 1,282 82 1,284 114 1,413 155 1,604 
			 60 to 74 9 37 11 31 16 32 9 35 
			 75+ 18 34 14 25 8 32 11 32 
			 Total male/female 166 1,587 141 1,574 185 1,719 234 1,940 
			 Year total 1,753 1,715 1,904 2,174 
			  Note:  A finished consultant episode is a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures represent the number of treatment episodes provided, but do not represent the individual number of patients seen, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Emergency Bed Days

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 36-7W, on emergency bed days, for what reasons she has not published data relating to 2005-06; and if she will publish this data.

Andy Burnham: Emergency bed days data for 2005-06 is shown in the following table. I regret the information was not included in the previous answer due to an administrative error.
	
		
			   Number of bed days for emergency admission group  Total number of bed days for all admission groups  Emergency bed days expressed as a percentage of the total number of bed days 
			 1997-98 30,342,827 49,535,706 61.3 
			 1998-99 31,177,520 49,863,665 62.5 
			 1999-2000 31,269,251 49,539,741 63.1 
			 2000-01 32,178,037 50,196,951 64.1 
			 2001-02 32,925,334 50,776,911 64.8 
			 2002-03 33,131,586 51,232,337 64.7 
			 2003-04 33,592,698 51,198,417 65.6 
			 2004-05 33,073,383 50,518,668 65.5 
			 2005-06 31,958,716 49,009,234 65.2 
			  Notes:  1. Bed days during the year for finished episodes.  2. Total bed days during the year from episode start date or 1 April (whichever is later) to episode end date or 31 March (whichever is earlier).  3. Admission methods for the emergency admissions included above are:  21 Emergencyvia accident and emergency (AE) services, including the casualty department of the provider.  22 Emergencyvia general practitioner (GP).  23 Emergencyvia Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau. 24 Emergencyvia consultant out-patient clinic.  28 Emergencyother means, including patients who arrive via the AE department of another health care provider.  4. Data Quality  Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England.  Source: Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

General Practitioners: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support her Department provides for general practitioners in Bedfordshire to undertake training to become GPs with a specialist interest; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: It is for the primary care trusts in discussion with local general practitioners (GP) to decide how many GPs with a specialist interest are required and how to fund any necessary training.

General Practitioners: County Durham

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there are per 1,000 of the population in County Durham; and how many there were in 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows general medical practitioners (GMP) per head of population for the former County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
	
		
			  General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  per head of population, County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   1997  2005 
			  County Durham and Tees Valley   
			 All GMPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) 621 776 
			 Population 1,150,807 1,151,799 
			
			 All GMPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) per 100,000 population 54.0 67.4 
			
			 All GMPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) per 1,000 population 0.54 0.67 
			 (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted general practitioners, general medical service (GMS) others and personal medical services (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para. 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.  Note:  Data as at 1 October 1997 and 30 September 2005.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics 2001 ONS Population Census.

Hospital Beds

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of  (a) NHS beds,  (b) general and acute beds,  (c) intermediate care beds,  (d) non-residential intermediate care places and  (e) adult critical care beds since the publication of the NHS Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Table 1: Average daily number of available beds 
			   All specialties (excluding day only)  Cumulative change  General and acute  Cumulative change 
			 1999-2000 186,290 0 135,080 0 
			 2000-01 186,091 -199 135,794 714 
			 2001-02 184,871 -1,419 136,583 1,503 
			 2002-03 183,826 -2,464 136,679 1,599 
			 2003-04 184,019 -2,271 137,247 2,167 
			 2004-05 180,966 -5,324 136,184 1,104 
			 2005-06 175,646 -10,644 133,033 -2,047 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of intermediate care beds 
			   Number of beds  Cumulative change 
			 1999-2000 4,242 0 
			 2000-01 (1) (1) 
			 2001-02 7,021 2,779 
			 2002-03 7,493 3,251 
			 2003-04 8,677 4,435 
			 2004-05 8,928 4,686 
			 2005-06 9,007 4,765 
			 2006-07 8,733 4,491 
			 (1) Not collected.  Notes: England figure is a pro-rata based on resident PCT populations. This is due to one PCT not returning data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of places in non-residential intermediate care schemes 
			   Number of places  Cumulative Change 
			 1999-2000 7,149 0 
			 2000-01 (1) (1) 
			 2001-02 13,878 9,636 
			 2002-03 19,078 14,836 
			 2003-04 17,298 13,056 
			 2004-05 20,558 16,316 
			 2005-06 20,637 16,395 
			 2006-07 23,403 19,161 
			 (1) Not collected  Notes: England figure is a pro-rata based on resident PCT populations. This is due to one PCT not returning data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of open and staffed adult critical care beds on the census day 
			  Census date  Critical care  Cumulative change 
			 15 January 2000 2,362 0 
			 14 July 2000 2,343 -19 
			 15 January 2001 2,885 523 
			 16 July 2001 2,940 578 
			 15 January 2002 3,030 668 
			 16 July 2002 3,070 708 
			 15 January 2003 3,097 735 
			 16 July 2003 3,128 766 
			 15 January 2004 3,143 781 
			 15 July 2004 3,160 798 
			 13 January 2005 3,240 878 
			 14 July 2005 3,215 853 
			 16 January 2006 3,278 916 
			 13 July 2006 3,242 880 
			 15 January 2007 3,359 997

Mid-Essex Hospital Trust: Hospital Beds

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital beds there are in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area; and how many there were in  (a) January 1997,  (b) January 2001 and  (c) May 2005.

Andy Burnham: The following table shows the average daily number of beds at Mid-Essex Hospital Service NHS Trusts for each of the financial years requested.
	
		
			   Total number of beds 
			 1996-97 888 
			 2000-01 843 
			 2005-06 809 
			  Source: Department of Health form KH03

Midwives: Manpower

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the work force of the NHS in England, expressed in terms of  (a) headcount and  (b) whole-time equivalent, was represented by midwives in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The proportion of the national health service work force represented by midwives since 1997 is shown in the following table. Between September 1997 and September 2005, the number of midwives employed in the NHS has increased by 2,423 (10.8 per cent.).
	
		
			  Qualified midwifery staff in England as a proportion of the total NHS work force as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Percentage 
			   Headcount  Full-time equivalent 
			 1997 2.1 2.1 
			 1998 2.1 2.1 
			 1999 2.1 2.0 
			 2000 2.0 2.0 
			 2001 2.0 1.9 
			 2002 1.9 1.9 
			 2003 1.9 1.8 
			 2004 1.9 1.8 
			 2005 1.8 1.7 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical work force census

NHS: Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the contribution was from the budget of each participating primary care trust to the London-wide NHS Reserve in each year since 2002.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows primary care trust (PCT) topslice forecast outturn to London strategic health authority at quarter three, 2006-07. From 2006-07 we have abolished planned support and given strategic health authorities the ability to generate reserves from top slicing their PCT allocations. This topslicing did not occur previous to 2006-07.
	
		
			  Q3 2006-07 PCT forecast outturn topslice 
			  PCT name  000 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 13,045 
			 Barnet PCT 12,816 
			 Bexley Care PCT 7,552 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 12,015 
			 Bromley PCT 10,952 
			 Camden PCT 11,438 
			 City and Hackney teaching PCT 14,840 
			 Croydon PCT 12,462 
			 Ealing PCT 13,042 
			 Enfield PCT 10,294 
			 Greenwich teaching PCT 11,235 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 8,838 
			 Haringey PCT 10,176 
			 Harrow PCT 7,489 
			 Havering PCT 9,352 
			 Hillingdon PCT 9,045 
			 Hounslow PCT 8,775 
			 Islington PCT 9,932 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 8,034 
			 Kingston PCT 5,924 
			 Lambeth PCT 13,755 
			 Lewisham PCT 11,719 
			 Newham PCT 13,876 
			 Redbridge PCT 9,114 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 6,629 
			 Southwark PCT 11,819 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 13,553 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 12,268 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 9,398 
			 Wandsworth PCT 11,376 
			 Westminster PCT 10,783 
			  Source: Financial monitoring returns quarter 3 2006-07

Patients: Telephones

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bedside patient telephone units are provided by hospitals in each primary care trust in England.

Andy Burnham: This information is not collected on a primary care trust basis. However, information is available for strategic health authorities (SHAs).
	The number of operational bedside television and telephone units, per SHA is shown in the table.
	
		
			  SHA  Number of operational bedside television and telephone units( 1) 
			 East Midlands 1,489 
			 East of England 7,516 
			 London 11,647 
			 North East 6,686 
			 North West 16,152 
			 South Central 5,730 
			 South East Coast 5,826 
			 South West 8,671 
			 West Midlands 7,195 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 9,246 
			 Total 80,158 
			 (1 )Data as at June 2006 note: this information is no longer collected centrally.

Surgery: Out-patients

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of outpatient operations were cancelled in each NHS Trust area in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Data is collected on the number of last minute cancellations, where a hospital cancels a patient for non-clinical reasons on the day the patient is due to be admitted or after arrival in hospital, or on the day of surgery.
	
		
			  Number of operations cancelled at the last minute and as percentage of elective activity 
			   Quarter One  Quarter Two  Quarter Three  Quarter Four  Annual 
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			 1996-97 11,595 1 11,055 0.9 13,023 1.1 16,374 1.4 52,047 1.1 
			 1997-98 12,019 1 11,550 1 12,476 1 14,460 1.2 55,505 1.1 
			 1998-99 12,384 1 11,470 0.9 14,611 1.1 17,685 1.3 56,150 1.1 
			 1999-2000 12,313 0.9 12,017 0.9 15,769 1.2 20,143 1.5 60,242 1.1 
			 2000-01 17,033 1.3 16,965 1.2 18,844 1.4 24,976 1.8 77,818 1.4 
			 2001-02 20,833 1.6 20,901 1.6 20,036 1.5 19,973 1.5 81,743 1.5 
			 2002-03 14,808 1.1 14,826 1.1 17,706 1.3 19,914 1.4 67,257 1.2 
			 2003-04 14,092 1.1 14,364 1 17,782 1.3 20,065 1.4 66,303 1.2 
			 2004-05 14,672 1.1 14,929 1.1 17,402 1.3 21,566 1.6 68,569 1.2 
			 2005-06 15,690 1.1 13,058 0.9 14,819 1 17,236 1.2 60,803 1 
			 2006-07 12,562 0.9 12,275 0.8 12,622 0.9